How are Blinking School Zone lights controlled? (Houston, Spring: home, school district)

[astrohip]

I've always wondered how the blinking school zone lights are controlled? Is there something in a control box, and if the start/stop times need to be changed, someone manually does it? Does it get a radio signal so it can be controlled remotely? Do they program in breaks (summer, spring, etc)?

I ask because (1) the school zone I drive thru daily did not adjust for DST, and now blinks an hour later than it should, and (2) it is blinking this week, and the school is closed for break. And I checked, there is no activity there, it is closed up tight other than a couple of cars (maint?).

I believe if the lights are set wrong, this leads to people not obeying them. They know the school zone times are over, so they drive 40 instead of 20. Or they aren't blinking when they should be, even more dangerous. It has to be hard to enforce when they aren't correct.

I post this as an ardent believer in school zone speed limits.

[fnh]

I'm curious too. I drive past The Regis School on the way home from picking up my kids and have noticed that the school zone light on Antoine which always used to blink at that time no longer does. It freaks me out, because I can see the Regis parents lined up in their cars and it's definitely a school zone so... I wonder why it's not blinking and whether I should be going 20 mph anyway (and get rear-ended!) I can't blame it on the time change, it stopped blinking in the fall.

[Dopo]

I'll take advantage of this and add to the question,
is there a way to complain about traffic lights creating traffic jams?

I have to drive on 2920 in Spring and the lights at Falvel and Meadow Hill Dr. are the most ridiculous crap I've ever seen.
No matter what, they only give about 30-45 seconds for people to go through them in all directions.
During rush hour the traffic is insane because of those two lights.
It's almost as bad as just having a 4-way stop.

[cla]

I have seen the same in KISD since I have lived here. Maybe they feel it isn't worth the effort to change it for DST since there is only a couple of months left in the school year.

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I'll take advantage of this and add to the question,
is there a way to complain about traffic lights creating traffic jams?

I have to drive on 2920 in Spring and the lights at Falvel and Meadow Hill Dr. are the most ridiculous crap I've ever seen.
No matter what, they only give about 30-45 seconds for people to go through them in all directions.
During rush hour the traffic is insane because of those two lights.
It's almost as bad as just having a 4-way stop.

You can complain here:

Harris County Precinct 4

They're actually pretty good about setting up studies to see if lights are warranted. They're also really good about turning down your request.

I used to live in Cypresswood Glen, and turning left onto Louetta was quite a challenge during rush hour, what with people going 60mph and the two curves.

There have been several major accidents there. Apparently someone has to die. We were turned down numerous times while I was living there.

[elnina]

The flashing lights are solar/battery powered and controlled/turned on by the school district. They are equipped with programmable time-based control units.
You can read more here:
Spot Devices - School Zone Flashing Beacon System

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by HoustonBornNRaised

You can complain here:

Harris County Precinct 4

They're actually pretty good about setting up studies to see if lights are warranted. They're also really good about turning down your request.

I used to live in Cypresswood Glen, and turning left onto Louetta was quite a challenge during rush hour, what with people going 60mph and the two curves.

There have been several major accidents there. Apparently someone has to die. We were turned down numerous times while I was living there.

Thanks, I'm going to give it a try.

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I'll take advantage of this and add to the question,
is there a way to complain about traffic lights creating traffic jams?

I have to drive on 2920 in Spring and the lights at Falvel and Meadow Hill Dr. are the most ridiculous crap I've ever seen.
No matter what, they only give about 30-45 seconds for people to go through them in all directions.
During rush hour the traffic is insane because of those two lights.
It's almost as bad as just having a 4-way stop.

This is one of the first things I noticed when I moved here. Houston does not know how to synchronize and time traffic signals. Traffic flow would be way better all around town if they did. FM-1960 is a perfect example. It's a 6-lane road between 290 and 45, and would be like a freeway at rush hour if they would synchronize all the lights and lengthen the cycles. Instead it's just stop and go from one light to the next.

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by elnina

The flashing lights are solar/battery powered and controlled/turned on by the school district. They are equipped with programmable time-based control units.
You can read more here:
Spot Devices - School Zone Flashing Beacon System

Thanks, interesting info.

So HISD is responsible for the non-management of these lights.