Synchronized Lights?

[cjohnson.405]

I love living in Edmond but I HATE dealing with the traffic.

Poor traffic flow design, lack of creativity, and a love of traffic lights have made driving in Edmond worse than any streets I drove when I lived in Dallas. Yes, Edmond street traffic is worse than Dallas. Highways are a different matter. But, the street traffic is intolerable.

What would it take for the city to synchronize East / West lights so that when you drove the speed limit you would theoretically hit green lights and not have to stop so dang frequently and wait?

I'm sick of getting a green light, stopping a quarter mile later, then stopping again a quarter mile later. Our traffic is a moving disaster.

Rant over but the synchronization question is open to anyone that can contribute.

[Scotty22]

There is a plan in place for fiber optic connectivity for all of Edmond's main corridors. Should be in place in a couple of years. Basically what this will allow is a 'smart grid' for traffic. Traffic lights can be controlled in the event of an emergency for Fire Trucks, Police or EMSA making intersections safter for everyone during those times, also will allow for MUCH better traffic flow since traffic is the #1 complain of Edmond citizens. I would expect a big leap in the next couple of years for traffic flow.

[boscorama]

I share your rant but must tell you that a few weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon, no less, I turned onto 2nd from Santa Fe and made it all the way to Bryant before having to stop at a light. That was weird! Bet it will never happen again.

[Debzkidz]

My husband and I have this discussion every time we drive through Edmond. All he can say is how much money and energy could be saved if cities would only synchronize their light.

[mugofbeer]

My husband and I have this discussion every time we drive through Edmond. All he can say is how much money and energy could be saved if cities would only synchronize their light.

Ditto, ditto, ditto! I realize you can't synchronize every light on every busy street but far more effort needs to be made where side street lights don't run on timers but are on-demand and synchronize the major traffic arteries. This would save enormous amounts of gas and make the air just a little cleaner!

[Snowman]

Ditto, ditto, ditto! I realize you can't synchronize every light on every busy street but far more effort needs to be made where side street lights don't run on timers but are on-demand and synchronize the major traffic arteries. This would save enormous amounts of gas and make the air just a little cleaner!

Even a lot of the areas that claim to be using on demand do stupid things if actually are looking at were there are cars and where there are not, I am not sure if the sensors broke or what happened.

[Debzkidz]

I don't understand why some lights do not just flash yellow at certain times. Everywhere else I've ever lived this was the norm. For example, on Danforth at Blackwelder. I totally understand why the light is needed there. On school days, traffic has be to able to get out of the junior high and the neighborhood there. But why is it necessary for traffic on Danforth to have to stop there at 10:00 at night or 9:00 on Sunday morning? No one coming out of the school at those times, and if someone was coming out of the neighborhood, traffic on Danforth is not so bad that they couldn't do it without a light. All kinds of things like this could definitely make living in Edmond easier.

[Anonymous.]

I don't understand why some lights do not just flash yellow at certain times. Everywhere else I've ever lived this was the norm. For example, on Danforth at Blackwelder. I totally understand why the light is needed there. On school days, traffic has be to able to get out of the junior high and the neighborhood there. But why is it necessary for traffic on Danforth to have to stop there at 10:00 at night or 9:00 on Sunday morning? No one coming out of the school at those times, and if someone was coming out of the neighborhood, traffic on Danforth is not so bad that they couldn't do it without a light. All kinds of things like this could definitely make living in Edmond easier.

I've noticed this is something Edmond does not do. Another great example would be the light @ Bradbury Dr. and 2nd. (this is between Coltrane and I-35).

This light serves zero purpose, perhaps the blind hill was posing a threat to people turning left out of the neighborhood, but the speed limit is only 45 right there. Enough time to react to seeing a car at the top of that hill.


I wonder if it is some code the city has that states to not use flashing reds or yielding yellows for tertiary intersections.

[Debzkidz]

I've noticed this is something Edmond does not do. Another great example would be the light @ Bradbury Dr. and 2nd. (this is between Coltrane and I-35).

This light serves zero purpose, perhaps the blind hill was posing a threat to people turning left out of the neighborhood, but the speed limit is only 45 right there. Enough time to react to seeing a car at the top of that hill.


I wonder if it is some code the city has that states to not use flashing reds or yielding yellows for tertiary intersections.

Yes, I thought about this thread yesterday, when I was sitting at that very light. There's just too many lights like this around Edmond. I don't know if its some city code or not, but I think it's just stupid.

[Hollywood]

Yes, I thought about this thread yesterday, when I was sitting at that very light. There's just too many lights like this around Edmond. I don't know if its some city code or not, but I think it's just stupid.

Was a result of several severe accidents over the years with people pulling onto 2nd and getting nailed by cars coming over the hill.

[Debzkidz]

Was a result of several severe accidents over the years with people pulling onto 2nd and getting nailed by cars coming over the hill.

I can understand the need during the day, but late at night, it's stupid. They should just be flashing yellow late at night when there are few cars on the road. I've just never lived anywhere that didn't have lights like that just flashing late at night.

[Hollywood]

I can understand the need during the day, but late at night, it's stupid. They should just be flashing yellow late at night when there are few cars on the road. I've just never lived anywhere that didn't have lights like that just flashing late at night.

I can see the logic in that, then again I've never seen that setup in use.

[hipsterdoofus]

Makes me almost wonder if a better solution at some intersections like the one mentioned would be a zone similar to a school zone, where on the main streets you have to slow down to 25. I suppose if the volume was too high, this wouldn't help, but I know it is a lot easier to turn out onto a main street in a school zone when the zone is active (I live in one). Would be able to avoid a few lights that way and just slow down instead.

[Debzkidz]

I can see the logic in that, then again I've never seen that setup in use.

I've seen it in Dallas suburbs, Houston and some of its suburbs as well as numerous smaller cities and towns. As I said, this is the first place I've ever lived in my 50+ years that doesn't do it.

Also just now, like 2 minutes ago, went through one in Atlanta.

[traxx]

I think the reason that flashing yellow lights aren't used is because people rarely slow down or use caution near them. They just fly right through. In their mind flashing yellow light = green light. At least this has been my observation. It just takes one person leaving the neighborhood late at night and getting plowed by someone going 50+ through the flashing yellow light to cause an uproar. Even if the speed limit is 40 or 45, we all know good and well that few people actually do that speed.

What would be best would be an on-demand system. The light for the main road stays green between certain hours of the night unless someone from the neighborhood pulls up and causes the light to change and then it goes back to staying green.

Flashing yellow lights are kind of like the law of allowing 3 feet for bicyclists. It's good in theory but doesn't hold up in practice. The idea of bicycles having the same right-of-way as cars comes from a time when there were few cars on the streets and the ones that were on the street struggled to reach 40mph. Now there's a ton of cars on the streets and they all fly and many of them are quite large. You can make all the laws you want of giving space to a bicyclists but it's only a matter of time before some driver crests a hill and hits a cyclists he didn't see. No one is really at fault in that scenario but it doesn't help the result. Having cyclists and motor vehicles occupy the same space is as bad an idea as having babies and pit bulls occupy the same space.