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It may work for places like the UK where roads are narrower and curving, but this would be a disaster in most US cities. Our roads are built for higher speed and higher capacity and need the control that stoplights offer. The only gripe I have with stoplights is that they aren't properly timed half of the time, which is why cities need to start implementing smart stoplights that change based on traffic flow.
There was a new light put in at an intersection on my route to work, it's at the end/beginning of a 50mph zone. Before the light traffic flowed smoothly, you almost always reached at least 50 when going away from the intersection, only problem was the occasional idiot that would pull out in front of traffic and cause a wreck.
Now, traffic is always backup up on the main road, and when getting the green I almost never even make it to 45mph in the 50 zone, irritating to say the least.
Our city is moving from under the road sensors to pole mounted cameras. This reduces operating cost (having to pull up road to fix a problem is expensive) as well as improve efficiency since they don't get the false readings like with under the road sensors. One particular intersection would regularly change to red on the main road because the sensor thought there was a car coming from the university.
They need to completely do away with timed lights and convert intersections to traffic sensing. I can't stand waiting at lights for no reason.
All the lights are on sensors around here...but some are timed also. A town near here has at least a dozen lights in a mile or two. IF you drive the speed limit (35), you will make them ALL, 90+% of the time. Works pretty good.
As for turning of all traffic lights? Yeah, I'm sure traffic would move quicker....on the main roads. But how the hell would you get onto the the main road from side streets? Around here, at certain times, it would be nigh impossible!
The example in UK appeared to be in a smallish city, where the flow of traffic from both directions was approximately equal, and heavy enough to back up quite a few cars per cycle.
I don't really have any problem with 4-way stop signs. They seem to work well everywhere I've ever seen them. You stop, and then go because the cross traffic also stops. What's the problem?
I think in the video, people spontaneously and voluntarily treated it like a 4-way stop, prudently unwilling to drive into the intersection without stopping.
They need to completely do away with timed lights and convert intersections to traffic sensing. I can't stand waiting at lights for no reason.
Even worse is sitting there at 2 in the morning. Just turn the damn things to "blink" mode after 9pm. The traffic lights in Chicago (and the traffic engineering in general) are absolutely dismal. I hate driving in this city at any time of day or night thanks to the stupid traffic lights.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sailordave
Our city is moving from under the road sensors to pole mounted cameras. This reduces operating cost (having to pull up road to fix a problem is expensive) as well as improve efficiency since they don't get the false readings like with under the road sensors. One particular intersection would regularly change to red on the main road because the sensor thought there was a car coming from the university.
Or better yet, when you get to sit there at a red light all day because the guy in the front of the line is on a motorcycle and it isn't heavy enough to trip the sensor. On one occasion I actually had to get out of my car and tell the guy to either move over or just run the damn light when there was a break in cross traffic so that a car could pull up and trigger the sensor.
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