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Traffic Lights
For a long time now I have been hearing how Raleigh has a plan to syncronize the traffic lights throughout the city. I think this is a great idea as it will reduce air pollution, reduce traffic congestion, reduce gas consumption, save everyone time and money, etc. I don't quite understand why it should be so expensive or take so long to implement. In fact I believe there should be a sense of urgency regarding this matter, not just here in Raleigh but everywhere nationwide. The amount of fuel that could be saved annually nationwide is phenominal not to mention the traffic congestion that could be reduced significantly.
It appears to me that the NC DOT already does syncronize lights during certain times of the day. I say this because I travel Six Forks everyday and there are definitely times during the day where I hit mostly green lights all the way from Strickland through North Hills. Other times of the day I hit a dozen or more red lights through the same stretch of road. It doesn't seem to matter how much traffic there is or what speed I'm traveling. I am quite sure I am not imagining this. Since this is so, why doesn't the NC DOT stick with traffic light cycles that seem to work just fine instead of changing them throughout the day. I have noticed this on other roads throughout the area as well. I believe this would be easy to prove.
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
Hadn't seen your article
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.
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
Math
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?