Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-07-2010, 06:50 PM
 
Location: Sarasota, FL
11 posts, read 26,236 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Is it just me or what? The dang traffic lights take forever to change. Just moved here from Phoenix, AZ and our lights out there changed faster. Also, we had dotted lines that would keep you in the correct lane when making left or right turns in large intersections, like freeway intersections. I don't see those here either.
Any thoughts folks?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-07-2010, 07:01 PM
 
362 posts, read 1,044,650 times
Reputation: 170
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schmeckel View Post
Is it just me or what? The dang traffic lights take forever to change. Just moved here from Phoenix, AZ and our lights out there changed faster. Also, we had dotted lines that would keep you in the correct lane when making left or right turns in large intersections, like freeway intersections. I don't see those here either.
Any thoughts folks?
Uh huh, the traffic system around here is awful; get used to it now and don't question it.. they seem to believe it's working just fine.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2010, 07:02 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,404,950 times
Reputation: 24745
Well, I follow the lane indicators that are painted when I'm making left turns on multi-turn lane intersections (and keep an eye out for the folks that don't at the same time), so we do have them.

What do you mean by "faster". How many cars are allowed to go through a light after waiting, in Phoenix? How many changes of a light do people have to wait through there versus here?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2010, 07:06 PM
 
Location: Dripping Springs , TX
786 posts, read 2,762,064 times
Reputation: 238
Lights are slower here, but last longer and clear a lot more cars. I rarely have to wait for more that one light here when turning left. In Toronto, you could wait for 3 or 4 lights before you could turn, with only 2 or 3 cars going per light.

I'll take the slower longer lights.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2010, 07:12 PM
 
Location: Sarasota, FL
11 posts, read 26,236 times
Reputation: 10
Hello THL, they "cycle" faster out there. They don't allow quite as many cars to go through, but you don't have to sit what seems like forever at a red light either. Also, all large intersections has the lane marker strips, so you don't accidentally drift into the other vehicles lane next to you. Already been honked at for doing that. Guess I got used to those.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2010, 07:16 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,404,950 times
Reputation: 24745
I have to agree with iceshots, I'd much prefer to have a little bit longer wait and give up the instant gratification in order to not have to sit through two or three or four lights.

I'm trying to think of a large intersection that I drive through that doesn't have the lane markers ("dotted lines") and I can't think of one. I'm in a BIG pickup most of the time, so I'm somewhat hyper aware of those because I want the other parties to know where the lane is and not pull into my lane, even if it's obvious to me where it is! What big intersections are you not seeing them on?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2010, 07:51 PM
 
3,787 posts, read 7,000,519 times
Reputation: 1761
I remember posting the same thing not too long after we moved here.

Now: I'm glad they take long. I needed to learn some patience. I'm learning to slow down more and enjoy life a bit more I do believe. No reason to GO, GO, GO. Time to RELAX, RELAX, RELAX!

Go Texas!

I'm wondering if it just might prevent accidents. (curious)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2010, 08:39 PM
 
8,231 posts, read 17,319,202 times
Reputation: 3696
I love long traffic lights as it's a legal opportunity to text and check my email! Woo hoo.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2010, 09:36 PM
 
575 posts, read 2,496,210 times
Reputation: 149
This is one my Pet Peeves about Austin. I believe the majority of the signals are still "timed" as opposed to smart signals that detect a car waiting via "in road" sensors.

I work at night a few times a month, and it takes longer to get home at 3-5AM because I am stuck at a Red Light with NO ONE going through the right away direction. Being the law abiding citizen, I wait for my turn, but I do go through the 7 dirty words very quickly, and then add a few dozen more that would have got Carlin in front of a firing squad.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2010, 05:10 AM
 
Location: Cypress, TX
587 posts, read 1,420,338 times
Reputation: 199
Our friends in Cedar Park also moved from Phoenix and warned us that we would NOT like the lights and traffic systems coming from there, etc.

That being said, I couldn't stand it in Phoenix (well, on the east side, we didn't get this as much on the west side) when the lights rotated so insanely fast that we had to, like others have stated, wait through 3 or 4 rotations to get through a light (especially a left turn). That gives me the impression that I'm waiting longer than actually waiting a little longer.

Our friends moved from the east side, whereas we spent the last 9 years on the west side, so maybe it won't be so bad for us.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top