Traffic signal timing

[grampi]

Does your local area have traffic signals that are timed so that every one you to come to is red? My local town is that way. It literally takes 10-15 minutes to go one mile down the main drag because you have to stop at every signal. Why they don't have them timed so once you get a green light, all the rest of the signals would be green when you get to them is beyond me. Also, the main drag these signals are on is more of a busy street than any of the streets that intersect with it, which makes the timing of these lights even more inexplicable...it's almost like they're timed the way they are to purposely disrupt as much traffic flow as possible...

 

[Dave Hess]

What city are you in?

Down here traffic light are timed perfectly. Luckily I don't drive in rush hour traffic.

 

[skyactiv]

It's up to the traffic engineer.
What city in Ohio? Smaller cities don't like being embarrassed.
Shoot a dash cam video and post it on Youtube. Complain to the city.

 

[Needleman]

+1 They're awful down here. I jokingly tell my son that there's a 2 year old somewhere pressing buttons to activate the red lights. It's a joke ...

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

So I'm not the only one who's city is vying for the tittle of "Unsynchronized Stop Light Capital of the World".

 

[Chris142]

Our lights are timed terrible! Something about the east west ones are controlled by the city and the north south ones are controlled by the county and they don't "communicate" with each other. It takes me 45 minutes to drive 9 miles to Walmart.

The one by my house won't change till there are 2 or more cars. So I pull up to the line then back up to the 1st sensor. By the time I am back to the crosswalk I get a green.

 

[sleddriver]

Typical in Austin. They hate private cars. Want to move everyone to mass transit or a bicycle. Even when it's 105F outside. Their just nuts....

 

[Bud]

Terrible here in my area.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
What city are you in?

Down here traffic light are timed perfectly. Luckily I don't drive in rush hour traffic.


Huber Heights...it's a burb of Dayton...

 

[emg]

Yes. But they're talking about maybe thinking about possibly synchronizing the lights at some point in the future.

It's ludicrous that, if a car follows the speed limit, they're guaranteed to hit at least one red light, whereas if they drive 10km/h above the speed limit, they get through them all on green.

Maybe it's just an excuse to hand out more speeding tickets.

 

[StevieC]

Where I am they are all timed together and all communicate together during peak traffic times to run longer periods of time with each other. The city can also override it as needed while monitoring traffic flow. It's pretty great. In Toronto some are and some aren't and traffic there is horrendous pretty much all day long.

 

[billt460]

There was an article in one of the local Phoenix papers here not long ago, that said many of the traffic lights at major intersections in the Phoenix Metro Area have not been retimed in over 20 years. Phoenix's population 20 years ago was just under 1.2 million. Today it's almost 4.8 million.

Why one might ask? Always the same answer. ADOT needs more money.

 

[honeeagle]

our local traffic guru calls it 'traffic calming' i kid you not.

 

[PimTac]

In the suburb where I live they un-timed the lights at the same time they put in red light photo cameras. Coincidence?

 

[Kawiguy454]

+1 Yes traffic calming ...If all the lights were timed than everyone would be speeding and there would be horrific accidents as the side-street dumbells try to enter traffic. Also if there are stores along the route they like to have traffic stop in front of their stores for easier routing in/out the parking lots. Well timed light systems usually 2-3 in a row are timed then 1 red to slow things down.

 

[Nick1994]

I don’t think it’s too bad here, seems 50/50.

If they’re long lights and I’m the 1st car there, I make a right turn and then a U-Turn, then another right turn and continue on with my way while everyone else is still waiting.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Why they don't have them timed so once you get a green light, all the rest of the signals would be green when you get to them is beyond me.
Wouldn't this mean that traffic going in the opposite direction would be getting lots of red lights instead?

 

[MasterSolenoid]

If their timed correctly,
A.M. - Timed to get cars quickly INTO the City
P.M. - Timed to get cars quickly OUT of City.

A lot of times driving thru a Suburb, I get stuck for every 'red' signal - it burns me up.
On my way home, I figure I'm intitaled to more 'green' signals.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: grampi
Why they don't have them timed so once you get a green light, all the rest of the signals would be green when you get to them is beyond me.
Wouldn't this mean that traffic going in the opposite direction would be getting lots of red lights instead?

No, they still go red, they are just offset from each other. So you might hit a red at the first light, but then once it goes green, your next light will be red, but change before you arrive to it. Its timed so that if you're going the speed limit, you will make it through the lights clean.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: Kawiguy454
+1 Yes traffic calming ...If all the lights were timed than everyone would be speeding and there would be horrific accidents as the side-street dumbells try to enter traffic.


No, because you time them so they only stay green if you're driving at the speed limit, thereby automatically slowing people down. Instead on my commute here, as I mentioned above, a driver HAS to drive above the speed limit if they want to hit the lights when they're green. They're timed for 60km/h on a 50km/h road.

I wonder if it was once a 60km/h road and they reduced the limit but never touched the lights?