Thread where we complain about Edmond Traffic

[cjohnson.405]

I love living in Edmond but traffic here is terrible. We moved from McKinney, Texas several years ago. Firsthand, I can tell you that street traffic is much worse in Edmond than in most of Dallas. Highways? That's different. I'm talking street traffic.

I live in East Edmond near Pop's and find myself spending more money (tax dollars) in OKC restaurants than Edmond restaurants because it is so hard to get to downtown Edmond or West Edmond.

Worse, it seems like it is totally self-inflicted. There are WAAAAAYYYYYYYY too many traffic lights. Do Edmond engineers not realize that street lights STOP traffic and don't make it go? In a 1/4 mile space from Saints Blvd to the I-35 hotel area, there are FIVE stoplights that are not timed in any way.

There are WAAAAYYYY too many curb cuts. Why does every business have one or more curb cuts that let stopped cars have to accelerate into moving traffic? Can we not drive parking lot traffic for multiple businesses into one curb cut that reduces churn inside moving traffic?

Why are street lights not timed so that if you drive at the speed limit, you hit all green lights? Just pick a few East/West streets and move traffic to I-35 and Broadway. Then, time Broadway lights to get traffic in and out of Edmond. i.e. Can we time Westbound lights from I-35 to Broadway on 2nd so that you get people from the highway to UCO and downtown quickly? And UCO to Broadway quickly? This doesn't take special equipment, it takes equipment ALREADY on the street lights.

It's crazy that we spent millions on a traffic control system that makes people watch traffic and coordinate traffic in a silo'd manner (one light at a time, not as a group of lights) but never made an attempt to time lights for 1/10th of the cost.

[HangryHippo]

Sadly, this is not just an issue in Edmond. The number of curb cuts and stoplights that the metro allows is unreal. I don't get it - do the people in charge not drive these streets and notice this bullsh*t? It's ridiculous.

[gopokes88]

Going north and south in Edmond is not bad. It's east west that is the nightmare.

Another huge problem is the state's apparent die hard opposition to 5 and 3 lane roads. (center turn lane.)

[CloudDeckMedia]

@cjohnson.405 - Curious how you decided upon Edmond when you moved here several years ago. Edmond has been known for traffic congestion and long drive times for many years, especially west of I-35.

[d-usa]

Every time I drive through Frisco in Texas, I feel like that’s the city Wdmond is trying to copy. They just aren’t doing a good job.

[jerrywall]

I think the issue is that the highway is in the geographic center of Edmond but not city center. Covell will help on the north end once it is done, plus provide a good connection to Portland. Kelly os pretty nice for n/s traffic. I try to avoid areas around UCO except my moms house. But it's such a commuter college that it's no surprise.

[Ross MacLochness]

It's just the nature of the beast.

[jerrywall]

^^ When I was a kid Edmond traffic was no problem, but the population has just increased so much and so many more people are driving, that they've struggled to keep up. They have a pretty aggressive streets upgrade program in place, and give good City Manager updates each week, plus they keep their website current. But I'm not sure if they'll ever be able to keep up with demand.

As for the lights, we had the timed lights at one point but evidently there was a need or a desire to change to a smart traffic system. The cameras are also supposed to be monitored by a human so they can manually over ride the "smart" programming.

[BBatesokc]

One reason we moved where we did in Edmond (East 15th and I-35 area). Traffic in that area is not bad most days, but you get outside of about a 1-2 mile radius and it gets really congested. The I-35 exits are getting pretty backed up though now too at 2nd, 15th and 33rd. I often exit at Memorial and go up the frontage roads. I don't go far West Edmond during high traffic times as it's too time consuming.

[chuck5815]

I like the idea of Roundabouts placed throughout Edmond, but I'm afraid the average Oklahoman won't know how to navigate them.

[d-usa]

We have a fair number of them now, how many crashes do we have each week?

[BBatesokc]

We have a fair number of them now, how many crashes do we have each week?

Oklahoma drivers don't wreck in the roundabouts - because they come to a screeching halt when they see one and freeze up not knowing what to do.... LOL

[Of Sound Mind]

Oklahoma drivers don't wreck in the roundabouts - because they come to a screeching halt when they see one and freeze up not knowing what to do.... LOL

#Truth

[jerrywall]

Oklahoma drivers don't wreck in the roundabouts - because they come to a screeching halt when they see one and freeze up not knowing what to do.... LOL

My mother lives near the one by UCO and cant figure it out...

[Johnb911]

Oklahoma drivers don't wreck in the roundabouts - because they come to a screeching halt when they see one and freeze up not knowing what to do.... LOL

this is so true and so frustrating

[bucktalk]

The old saying, "it'll get worse before it gets better" doesn't hold true for traffic in Edmond. Yes, east/west navigation through town is a nightmare. The fact you can almost drive into OKC faster than driving through east/west Edmond says a lot. As far as traffic lights are concerned I think they are worse after Edmond installed monitors which were to help with traffic flow. The intersection as Coltrane and 2nd street (north and south bound) is MUCH worse once the city messed with the traffic lights. For those living on the eastside of Edmond - east of I35 and north of Covell - your traffic will explode with congestion once the additional 700 homes are built. I can't imagine how heavy commuter traffic will become once those 700 homes are occupied. Sadly, I don't think city planners can figure out how to help with traffic flow. They seem to be making decisions which make matter worse....not better.

[jerrywall]

East West, the trick is to avoid 2nd and 15th. Covel and 33rd aren't bad and Memorial is pretty good. 2nd is a nightmare especially as you get closer to downtown. But this doesnt seem to be unique. I used to work in Campus Corner in Norman. There's no fast way to get there. It is what it is with downtown areas.

[cjohnson.405]

East West, the trick is to avoid 2nd and 15th. Covel and 33rd aren't bad and Memorial is pretty good. 2nd is a nightmare especially as you get closer to downtown. But this doesnt seem to be unique. I used to work in Campus Corner in Norman. There's no fast way to get there. It is what it is with downtown areas.

That's the thing, it doesn't have to be like it is. Edmond's bad traffic is all self-inflicted. I've lived in cities where you could go 5 or 6 miles without stopping at a stop light because all of the lights were all timed to be green if you drove the speed limit.

It's self-inflicted because engineers have placed so many stop lights and the city put millions into a traffic control system that is siloed. Every decision about traffic is made at an individual intersection level and not as a connected grid of intersections.

[HangryHippo]

That's the thing, it doesn't have to be like it is. Edmond's bad traffic is all self-inflicted. I've lived in cities where you could go 5 or 6 miles without stopping at a stop light because all of the lights were all timed to be green if you drove the speed limit.

It's self-inflicted because engineers have placed so many stop lights and the city put millions into a traffic control system that is siloed. Every decision about traffic is made at an individual intersection level and not as a connected grid of intersections.

So true, particularly your last sentence!

[jerrywall]

Are there really any decently sized cities which use times lights and not some sort of smart system anymore?

[cjohnson.405]

Are there really any decently sized cities which use times lights and not some sort of smart system anymore?

McKinney, Texas. Was the fastest growing city in the US for several years and sits at about 160k population now. Edmond's growth is a turtle compared to the Collin County cities near Dallas.

The problem with Edmond's smart system is that it isn't smart. It relies on individuals to look at cameras and make decisions at individual intersections.
"Smart" is a misnomer.

[scottk]

Too many cars, too little space.

As mentioned above, lack of turn lanes, inadequate/small main corridor intersections in most places. The city would benefit much better if all main corridor roads were just like Broadway between Danforth and Covell (Wide lane, no stoplights for a mile, and divided center turn lane, limited curb cuts to help traffic flow. Second, if all main intersections were designed like Covell/Kelley or the updated 33rd/Broadway, traffic would flow much better too.

After being a part of Edmond for nearly 20 years, I feel like the city leadership is finally coming around to renovating the older road infrastructure on main streets south of Danforth and between I-35 and Santa Fe.

[Scott5114]

Another huge problem is the state's apparent die hard opposition to 5 and 3 lane roads. (center turn lane.)

Depends on where you go. There's plenty of 5-lane roads in McClain County (the main drag through Newcastle, for example), and Lindsey Street in Norman was 3-lane until recently.

Are there really any decently sized cities which use times lights and not some sort of smart system anymore?

Detroit, but they "cheat" by banning left turns (you have to turn right, then make a U-turn).

[Anonymous.]

I used to live deep in Edmond and commuted downtown for a typical 8-5. I remember I would spend the same amount of time getting through the lights on Broadway as I would sitting in the stop-and-go I-44/I-235 nightmare. I recently had to go to Edmond during a weekday and @ like 2pm on a Wednesday or something - it was chaos with people driving around everywhere. I was so confused, like does no one have a job there?!

I don't ever want to, but if I was to ever move back to Edmond, it would be somewhere on the extreme southsides that are basically N. OKC with easy access to the turnpike and I-235.

[jerrywall]

Tbf, I have to get from Film Row to Edmond every day. Getting to the highway takes 20 minutes and it's like 5 miles. Then I get to my door in Edmond in about 15.