Traffic lights downtown (Birmingham, Trussville, Southside: how much, house, university)

[vezz77]

Is it just me, or are there some really inefficient traffic lights in downtown Birmingham? In just the 3-4 miles from my house to work, I encounter at least 3 lights that do not seem to be properly weighted for the traffic patterns. For example, even though University Drive/Clairmont Ave. is a heavily traveled street and 32nd St is not, the light at this intersection gives equal time to each street. This is the case even when there are no cars waiting at the light on 32nd St but University/Clairmont is under heavy morning traffic. Also, when traveling east/west on 6th or 7th Avenues, there are several lights at cross-streets that turn red regardless of traffic and stay red for what seems like an inordinate amount of time.

Does anyone know if the city makes use of traffic sensors or traffic pattern analysis to calibrate its traffic lights? It would seem that we could all benefit (in terms of less traffic congestion, shorter travel times, and less road rage) if these lights were calibrated more evenly.

[rawrockills]

Have you ever tried driving through Birmingham late at night or early in the morning? You hit every light and they stay red for minutes on end, with no traffic in sight. It's pretty ridiculous.

[vezz77]

That is another problem - when there is no traffic at all, the lights still use the same pattern. At night, they might be better of switching to a flashing yellow/flashing red scheme. That way, when someone comes to the light, they don't have to wait 5 minutes for it to change.

[Lift Moving]

I agree, but the worst has to be on Lakeshore in front of Brookwood Mall. The five lights are set to instill patience in the soul...

[UABstudent]

The lights are awful. They only synchronize some of the streets and they don't really think about setting the rest. 22nd Street Downtown has lights that sync pretty well You only get stopped once between 5th Ave N to Highland Ave. University will only let you go about 2 blocks before you hit a red light. Birmingham doesn't use senors downtown or in Southside/Highland Park.

It's very hit or miss. Lakeshore is the worst place I've seen this, most of the other suburbs use senors at night. Trussville seems to only use Senors.

[vezz77]

Even if they didn't use sensors, they could still evaluate traffic patterns to make everything flow more smoothly. There is no sense in poorly traveled streets getting green lights that last as long as green lights on the main thoroughfares.

[cpg35223]

Well, you have to realize that there are two really great avenues where the lights are timed perfectly: 3rd and 4th. Take those two and you'll be amazed at how much more quickly you go. Fifth and Sixth isn't very bad either.

Now, the north-south streets east from Arrington and 20th are equally retarded. I cannot tell you how many times I've wanted to smash my car into the pole with the signal because they were all out of sync. I'd like an explanation, too.