#178064 - chris12131 - Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:28 am
Christopher Hume?s piece points to the continued frustration of traffic signal lights, drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and police as we try to move about a city whose biggest problem is not the automobile but the breakneck pace of population growth without serious planning and infrastructure improvements to deal with real estate development.
I wish to suggest that not all solutions are expensive and perhaps improvements to people movement in this city can be made with a little ?outside the box? thought.
Has anyone considered the way our Led traffic lights work? Must they work the same way they have since they were invented? Perhaps tweaking the way they operate could net some improvement. I suggest it?s worth considering a new signal routine.
Basically, there would be four phases. In the first phase vehicular traffic would move in one direction. In the next phase, the traffic would move in the other direction. In these two phases, right turns would be permitted.
In the third phase, traffic would be allowed only left turns in both directions simultaneously and in the final phase pedestrians would have the intersection to themselves in a scramble ? but unlike the misguided scrambles we now have, pedestrians could only access the intersection with green on the traffic signal light on this phase.
This achieves the elimination of the horrendous waiting for pedestrians while attempting a right turn and the ensuing backup of right turning vehicles at busy intersections. As well, pedestrian safety would be obviously improved since they would only be allowed in the intersection by themselves without vehicles at one point in the cycle. Timings of each of these phases could be tweaked depending on demands of particular locations.
I suggest that even though one might feel like they would be inconvenienced with a bit of a longer wait at the signals, things would actually move much quicker and safer with less frustration.
This re-programming of existing solar power traffic lights should not be of significant cost. This scenario would be particularly useful at intersections that have a high volume of pedestrian flow.
I wish to suggest that not all solutions are expensive and perhaps improvements to people movement in this city can be made with a little ?outside the box? thought.
Has anyone considered the way our Led traffic lights work? Must they work the same way they have since they were invented? Perhaps tweaking the way they operate could net some improvement. I suggest it?s worth considering a new signal routine.
Basically, there would be four phases. In the first phase vehicular traffic would move in one direction. In the next phase, the traffic would move in the other direction. In these two phases, right turns would be permitted.
In the third phase, traffic would be allowed only left turns in both directions simultaneously and in the final phase pedestrians would have the intersection to themselves in a scramble ? but unlike the misguided scrambles we now have, pedestrians could only access the intersection with green on the traffic signal light on this phase.
This achieves the elimination of the horrendous waiting for pedestrians while attempting a right turn and the ensuing backup of right turning vehicles at busy intersections. As well, pedestrian safety would be obviously improved since they would only be allowed in the intersection by themselves without vehicles at one point in the cycle. Timings of each of these phases could be tweaked depending on demands of particular locations.
I suggest that even though one might feel like they would be inconvenienced with a bit of a longer wait at the signals, things would actually move much quicker and safer with less frustration.
This re-programming of existing solar power traffic lights should not be of significant cost. This scenario would be particularly useful at intersections that have a high volume of pedestrian flow.