Timers at Red Lights?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 21, 2009 at 7:17am

At some intersections, the yellow really IS that short. Not true at every intersection in the city.

h3 said:

Anne said:

I think this is hogwash. Why do we continue to coddle vehicle operators? The system of "Green, Yellow, Red" has been in place for decades, what is the excuse for not understanding this most basic concept? Is it so mysterious that one follows the other

Instead of a countdown light (and the immense infrastructure costs), lets just make the Yellow light five, ten minutes long so that everyone can speed up through the intersection?

I agree with this.
Additionally, I don't believe the yellow light in Chicago is only 3 seconds. Just not possible.

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Permalink Reply by mike w. on February 21, 2009 at 5:44pm

i'm in the NW 'burbs where red light cameras have blossomed like spring toadstools in the past 3 months. Believe me, it's ALL ABOUT REVENUE-GENERATING under a fig leaf of "public safety." i seriously doubt the accident stats have dropped outside of the margin-of-error.

i have proposal: instead of tinkering the yellow light times, why not add a couple of seconds to the time before the cross-traffic's lights turn green? (In other words, just let everyone sit a couple of extra seconds at full red before the next light turns green.) i've seen more than a few accidents involving people who've jumped the green early onto others who pushed the red.

i find it amazing the truly bone-headed stuff drivers do to shave 4 or 5 seconds off their drivetime. It's gotten worse just in the last 4 years.

Be careful out there!

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Permalink Reply by Ali on February 22, 2009 at 11:11pm

In some countries they have what is called a "Green Wave". It consists of synced lights and as long as you drive the suggested speed you will always hit a green light. In my opinion it worked great and would love to see something like that within the loop.

-Ali

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Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on February 23, 2009 at 4:20pm

I think some roads here are like that. If you drive 25-30 on ridge in evanston you'll hit all the greens. The problem with that system is that only drivers who are not only smart enough to use the old racing mantra of slowing down to go fast, but also wise enough to actually do it, get the benefit. Most bone heads don't get the finesse of it....more horsepower, more gas, drag race red to red..if I floor it I must be making better time, etc..

also, in the loop there are other stop and go obstacles that keep you from going a constant speed light to light.

I remember when I was in Germany years ago, getting a ride through town - all the lights down the street turned green at once and the woman driving just floored it to try to make as many as possible before they turned red. Talk about a bad system.


Ali said:

In some countries they have what is called a "Green Wave". It consists of synced lights and as long as you drive the suggested speed you will always hit a green light. In my opinion it worked great and would love to see something like that within the loop.

-Ali

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Permalink Reply by DonRay A.K.A. Zesty on February 23, 2009 at 6:17pm

I totally agree with you Anne - the city should not give into the complaints of drivers. The city should make every effort possible to discourage driving, especially in high traffic areas like the loop during the rush periods. It should be way more cost effective for the general public to avoid cars in major cities...Bloomberg almost had it in NY. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/nyregion/08congest.html ) Though something tells me this would never even be suggested in the midwest where the SUV still rules...




Anne said:

I think this is hogwash. Why do we continue to coddle vehicle operators? The system of "Green, Yellow, Red" has been in place for decades, what is the excuse for not understanding this most basic concept? Is it so mysterious that one follows the other
Instead of a countdown light (and the immense infrastructure costs), lets just make the Yellow light five, ten minutes long so that everyone can speed up through the intersection?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Koss on February 24, 2009 at 6:20pm

This sounds like it will make my ride home feel like I'm riding next to the Daytona 500...all I need is people racing to now beat a clearly visible clock to save themselves a precious 20 seconds of being stopped at a red light.

If they want to waste money, waste it on a new improved camera that detects if a driver used a turn signal before turning at an intersection, and fine them heavily if they were incapable of moving a small lever up or down an entire inch.

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