share.triangle.com - traffic - Comments

More Smart Traffic Lights Needed

mntnlvr — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:32:31 -0400

Traffic Light synchronization is best on one-way streets, which for instance works quite well when crossing downtown Raleigh. On 2-way streets, it can be made to work for the main flow in one direction at certain times of the day, but all traffic going the other way is going to be stopped many times on the same route.

What is needed fast is more smart traffic lights such as the ones at the crossing of Lynn Road and Lead Mine Road, or at Lynn Road and North Hills Drive. When the traffic is heavy at the intersection, they work as usual with a timer-based cycle. However when the traffic is lighter and at least a few seconds elapse between cars, they quickly give the green light on a first-come first-served basis from any direction. That for me is better than synchronization except perhaps at peak times.

Bernard

Hadn't seen your article

Visitor — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:49:48 -0400

Hadn't seen your article when I posted mine entitled "Traffic lights are wasting your time and money" We are certainly on the same wave length when it comes to this. Hopefully, we can get more people thinking the same way and can exert some pressure on officials to effect some intelligent changes.

Gas Tax, Property Tax and High Cost of Tolls

Visitor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:12:56 -0400

So, unlike most states NC has a high gas tax, and a vehicle property tax to pay for these roads to begin with. Tolling is just a bad idea, for every $1 they take in $.30 will go to supporting the toll infrastructure. So only $.70 will go to the roads. Additionally for anyone that has lived in a toll road state we all know that once tolls go up, they NEVER come down, so don't even think that they will be eliminated once the road has be "paid for" because that would mean people will lose their jobs and the state will lose a significant source of revenue. You only have to look to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge that connects Brooklyn, NY to Staten Island, NY. Politicians swore that once the bridge was paid for the toll would be removed, currently that bridge gets paid for twice a day with the toll money they recieve.

I would rather pay higher gas tax, or higher property tax and not create a bigger government that will tax me to use roads I help pay for.

amen, and by the way

plusaf — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:29:45 -0400

no offense intended to anyone, of course, but WHAT #*^&$ took out the round light signal at the westbound entrance ramp from northbound Leesville Road and replaced it with a red left-arrow, meaning NO LEFT TURN ON RED instead of left ok if there's space???????? Now we have to wait for someone's idea of a "normal cycle time" before getting a left turn green???? THANK YOU TOO MUCH!. Much like the northbound Glenwood signal at the left turn for Lynn. So much fun to sit at THAT light and watch a few hundred yards of empty road barrelling down the hill towards you while you wait for the light to change..... major DUH!

update: 04.10.2008....
drove back from a downtown concert last saturday night around 10:30. took the Outer Beltway to the Glenwood/70 exit. got in the left-turn lane and waited at the light. during the next three or four minutes, approximately a dozen cars passed through the intersection in either direction in front of me. three minutes. 12 cars.

finally, the light changed, and fortunately, i was first through the intersection onto 70 "northbound." but by the time i got to the next light, the one for the Outer Beltway exit onto 70 north, it was changing in front of me! i hit the gas, wasting our grandchildrens' precious petrochemicals, and was rewarded for making it through the light legally by .... of course!... a red light at the NEXT intersection.

and this was at 10:30 pm on a weekend night with fairly light traffic on just about all the roads.

and someone, anyone, has the unmitigated nerve to say "that's the way we want it to be"?????

plusaf
Northwest Raleigh
27613

NO Tolls on 540

No Tolls on 540 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:57:52 -0400

I'm just here to share the news about http://www.notollson540.org. Note that recently STAC wrote their draft plan for rail and bus in the Triangle area, charged with looking at transit for our future. They failed to include roads in that transit plan. This leaves the NCTA to continue to attempt to move forward to toll 540. Imagine this, STAC is going to ask local taxpayers for a half cent increase in sales tax. Are you going to agree to that and at the same time allow a toll road to be built? No thanks. If we are raising the sales tax for transit funding, the entire 540 loop should be built and be free to drive.

Math

Java55 — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:06:32 -0500

The math they need to use for calculating the volumes and in both directions of all the crossroads as well as the main roads for proper light cycling goes way beyond my visualization too... and yes I've noticed the inconvenient light cyclings, indeed I have - a by-product of poor city planning?

What happened to NC being known as the "good road state?"

Visitor — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:21:03 -0400

Growing up in North Carolina, teachers would call North Carolina the "good road state." However, most experts now write about how North Carlina's roads are the "worst in the southeast." What happened? We probably will never know. However, I am increasingly feeling that NC DOT is rife with incompetent.

Examples:
1) I-540 and I-40 interchange. Already mentioned by several sources, it baffles me why the intersection between a 8 lane freeway (I-40) and a 6-8 lane freeway (I-540) would have ONE (1) lane? After all the Aviation Parkway and NC 54 exit ramps on both sides have at least 2 exit lanes. It doesn't take a traffic engineer to see that this is an inadequate design.

2) I-540 at Triangle Towne Blvd. The ENTIRE freeway is a minimum of 6 lanes (3 each direction). So WHY on earth did they drop I-540 westbound through the Triangle Towne Blvd interchange down to 2 continuous lanes? While not an issue now, as we grow, it is destined to be a chokepoint.

3) I-540 at US70. Why do you route the east side of the interchange through the traffic light at Westgate Road? Seems extremely inefficient

4) BL-85, I-40 at US 421 in Greensboro. Again, only 2 lanes through Death Valley for WB traffic, as opposed to 3 lanes continuous for EB lanes.

There are many more questionable designs, but the I-40, 540 interchange is one that is really inadequate!

Yes, the developers of the

Visitor — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:11:35 -0400

Yes, the developers of the Wal Mart in Morrisville are going to have to improve that section of 54. http://www.ci.morrisville.nc.us/planning/documents/website_010.pdf However, that was not planned when 540 was designed so the DOT would have still left us hangining and we are lucky that someone is developing that section now (or at least int eh next year or so) and not 10 years from now.

I think it will be even more interesting when it becomes common knowlege that the 540 interchange with Kitt Creek/Davis is only temporary and the current plan is to remove that connection when teh rest of the Triangle Parkway is built. (drive on that section and see teh elevation of the future road grading and compare that to the ramp and it is pretty obvious anyway). Then you will need to go up the parkway further up Davis near Hopson to get off so Cisco, NetApp, CreditSuisse and eventually Fidelity people are screwed. At least the Davis widening will be done by then though.

interchange at Davis Dr

Visitor — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:11:00 -0400

One day the Triangle Parkway will interchange with 540. Obviously, there was not enough room at Davis Dr. to plan for that future connection.
As for the section of two lane to the north that did not get widened on NC54. Developers are planning large retail/commercial expansion just north of the 540/NC54 interchange. Additional widening will be done along NC54, including the existing 2 lane section.......AT NO COST TO THE CITIZENS OF NC!

nc 540

Visitor — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:15:40 -0400

Morning commute time was about the same as my usual trip up Davis Drive. Did hit a little back up going south on NC55 in the evening at the two lights to the south of the 540 interchange.

Questions I have are "why the extensive interchange at Davis Drive?" and "why wasn't the 750' to 1,000' of NC54 completed as 4 lanes to the north of the 540 improvements"? Another example of our NCDOT's ability to waste tax dollars and miss opportunities to do the "best" job.

On the toll road, make the whole 540 a toll road and get the entire loop built.

I exit 540 at 40 EAST to Airport Blvd. at 6:45 weekdays, so...

catsinnc — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:22:15 -0400

I knew I had to be in the right lane instead of my "comfortable" less traveled middle lane. I did not know that I would have to move over to an extended Globe Rd. exit lane and apparently neither did anyone else. There was a jam but I believe more due to confusion.

There was a handful of cars continuing on to NC 540 towards RTP at that time.

I spoke to a co-worker who gets to work at 8:00 and he exits at Aviation due to the jam at I40 and said the jam was still there this morning.

So, for the first day I saw no change but maybe it's because I'm an early commuter or confusion.

NC 540 and toll roads

Rich Shulmistra — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:47:38 -0400

I cannot agree with the proposed tolls for NC 540 to build new sections. If it takes longer to build it so be it. If parts of it go toll then the whole loop should be toll. It is unfair to only put tolls on a portion of it.

540 to 70 to 85, yes

BruceSiceloff — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:16:26 -0400

Going west, this is one way to avoid trouble. But ONLY if the Durham Freeway exit is blocked. Otherwise, needlessly out of the way.

If Durham Freeway is open, either ...

-- take it north to Durham and then US 15-501 south to Chapel Hill. It's out of the way but faster than a 10-minute construction delay. Or

-- take it north to Durham, beyond US 15-501, until it ends at southbound I-85. Take I-85 to Hillsborough, where it meets I-40 again. Out of the way if your destination is east of Hillsborough, but a great way any day if you are traveling farther west.

C.H./S. Dur alt route / Google Maps tip

Jimmy_S — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 23:01:32 -0400

If you're trying to get to Chapel Hill from South Durham north of 40 and want to avoid it and Hwy 54 altogether:

A good route to consider would be to take the MLK Pkwy and turn left at University Dr or get off at the Tower Dr exit just before you hit the exit ramp for 15-501 northbound. University Dr does run into Old Chapel Hill Rd (Old Durham Rd once you get past the BCBSNC bldg) before it meets 15-501 @ Hardee's. The street naming thing may be somewhat confusing for newcomers, but the route is worth considering if you haven't tried this one yet.

Also, if you map out your route on Google Maps and check the "Avoid Highways" option, you can come up with a fairly reasonable alt route as well. That's how I managed to come up with my alt route suggestion.

Alternate route from SE Raleigh to CH and west

BruceSiceloff — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:52:42 -0400

This is the scenic route. Fearrington Road crosses Jordan Lake a couple of times.

A couple of miles east of the Wilsonville intersection, NC 751 runs north from US 64 to I-40.