Traffic Lights (Atlanta: suburban, cars, installing)

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

why do they have those stupid lights at the end of the ramp before you enter the highway?

[ericsonga]

Freeway Traffic Lights

Here you are!

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

thanks....i guess they are annoying to everybody...you think I would get a ticket it if I ignored it?

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

thanks....i guess they are annoying to everybody...you think I would get a ticket it if I ignored it?

The lights are no more annoying than sitting in a line of traffic behind someone afraid to merge onto the highway. They are in place to regulate the flow of traffic and hopefully make the merging process easier.

I don't really know how well the lights are patroled, but I would recommend a little patience rather than risking a ticket.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

why do they have those stupid lights at the end of the ramp before you enter the highway?

Because some deluded fool things that metered entrance ramps actually work?

Been there, done that ... the Twin Cities has hundreds of those things and has for years. Some work, some don't, but I suspect that system as a while isn't worth the money they paid for it.

There's nothing more frustrating, IMO, than watching the traffic flow smoothly below while you spend five minutes sitting in traffic on the stupid ramp.

[cityrover]

i still ignore them

i was watching people who stop for them.. alright nice. but then they forget to merge and cause 10 cars to shift a lane or hit the brakes.

so just ignore those stupid things. worse with them

[DarkWolf]

Ramp meters should have only been placed on entrance ramps in Suburban areas , they don't work in Urban areas , but for some Reason the USDOT doesn't want to change that silly rule There mean't to help you merge better , thankgod my state doesn't have any.

~Corey

[billl]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

There's nothing more frustrating, IMO, than watching the traffic flow smoothly below while you spend five minutes sitting in traffic on the stupid ramp.

Perhaps the traffic on the freeway is flowing smoothly because of the stupid ramp metering. The primary purpose of ramp metering isn't to make merging easier, it is to reduce congestion on the freeway and break up clumps of cars. Its actual effectiveness is still up for debate.

Ramp meter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

thanks....i guess they are annoying to everybody...you think I would get a ticket it if I ignored it?

How would you "ignore" the light, unless you plan to drive on the shoulder to pass everyone who's in line? It's not the 5 seconds that you wait for your light to turn green again that takes up time- it's the time waiting to get to the light.

While it may seem like a PITA waiting for those lights, they do work- I've seen major improvements in the traffic at the 75/575 merge and on 575 itself since they implemented them. I'd rather spend a minute or two waiting to get on the freeway than spend an extra 10-15 minutes sitting in traffic because people don't know how to merge in a steady stream without some guidance.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by billl

Perhaps the traffic on the freeway is flowing smoothly because of the stupid ramp metering. The primary purpose of ramp metering isn't to make merging easier, it is to reduce congestion on the freeway and break up clumps of cars. Its actual effectiveness is still up for debate.

Ramp meter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ramp metering was first tested in the Twin Cities metro in 1969, the Twin Cities has almost 500 of them in service, and I spent most of my life driving on that particular freeway system (starting in 1978, and ending in 2004) along a number of routes.

I certainly understand their basic purpose, having experienced traffic and related changes as the system of ramp meters in the Twin Cities was expanded over time.

Yes, the purpose is to reduce freeway congestion and avoid high congestion areas that cause slowdowns.

However ... The Twin Cities conducted a very well publicized experiment several years ago ... they turned off the entire system (roughlyl 430 ramp meters at that time) for a period of 8 weeks to see what impact it had on traffic flow.

It's my understanding that most areas got worse, but some areas improved, and I'm talking about general traffic flow, not experiences at specific meters.

It isn't always obvious what the impact of such lights are, and with dynamic traffic patterns at different parts of the day as well as changes over time, the impact of a given meter could be both positive and negative. even if it's a smart meter or one centrally controlled by a human with access to traffic cameras.

That also applies to the entire system.

It's also my understanding that the benefit to Atlanta from such a system will depend to a large extent on where the meters are placed and how the system of meters is controlled. Since the Atlanta metro doesn't appear to have any sophisticated traffic light control systems in place that I've seen (either light coordination or emergency vehicle overrides), I have my doubts about the sophistication of the ramp meter system they're installing.

If it doesn't always work well in a well-organized metro like the Twin Cities, will Atlanta be any better?