The problem comes as you get streets such as this just off major roads being used as cut-throughs:
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/DXHF2G/terraced-street-in-hillsboro...Those roads can barely handle the traffic they get because they are so narrow, so people using them at speed to avoid more suitable roads is a problem. It's:
* less safe for residents (inherent to more traffic, but especially so given how close the entryways are to the road), and, for better or worse, there may be children playing in the street
* makes it more dangerous to park there (risk of damage from passing vehicles)
* less convenient to park if you have to negotiate heavy traffic
* adds unwanted noise - typical residential traffic volumes/patterns aren't too bad, but I wouldn't want heavy traffic passing by just outside my front room.
Its negative connotation is well-earned IMO (especially as _anecdotally_ many of the drivers looking to take advantage of such routes drive at excessive speeds for the road conditions). In a lot of cases, the volume of traffic on those roads SHOULDN'T increase - they just aren't designed for it.
I'd also question if it is actually more efficient - with how narrow these sorts of streets are, and the likelihood of people wanting to park etc., you aren't going to get a smooth flow of traffic as people try to negotiate round each other.
> It seems to me that these residents associations are trying to push the problem of higher overall road use on to others that don't have such strong residents associations.
It's mostly a term used where there is a larger road in the vicinity, but people use the residential streets to avoid congestion or take a marginally shorter route. It's not really a case of shuffling the traffic off onto other residential streets.