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No not a thread about RLJing, but traffic lights in general.
Why is it at busy junctions when the traffic lights are out traffic generally flows better.
I can't be the only person to make this observation.
Busy junctions that regularly have queues and where you need to wait a minimum of two phases to get through now flow freely and this is at rush hour when the roads are busiest.
So why do we bother
People behave better at a tl fault because it's unexpected. If it was always like that, it would be carnage.
Most cyclists seem to think that traffic lights are just ornamental street decorations so you'll have to excuse them for being confused by your references to waiting and queues ... 😀
Bristol carried out a trial, switching of traffic lights at junctions and surprise surprise traffic flowed better.
Despite this the traffic lights were switched back on as it was argued that their presence at junctions could confuse drivers.
IMHO traffic lights compensate for poor drivers
Don't get me wrong they may be necessary at some junctions with specific flows and traffic profiles but does virtually every junction in a city centre need a set of lights?
Why is Britain in a small minority of countries that doesn't switch lights to flashing amber at night for example or making left turns at traffic lights a give way rather than a stop.
Are we that crap that we need protected from ourselves
Yes.
Why is it at busy junctions when the traffic lights are out traffic generally flows better.
There was a massive powercut in Glasgow (actually most of the west of scotland) a few years about that knocked out all the traffic lights in the city, in rush hour - one of the easiest, least congested journeys I've ever had to make across the city at that time of day.
But...... cars aren't the only things that move around the city, so how well it would work out for pedestrians, either at junctions or along main routes in general without having the flow of traffic punctuated regularly to allow people a chance to cross I don't know
It's an urban myth.
Around my way a lot of congestion is deliberately caused to encourage people to use public transport.
No tin foil hat required, I've seen documented proof of this thinking.
Around my way a lot of congestion is deliberately caused to encourage people to use public transport.
No tin foil hat required, I've seen documented proof of this thinking.
In London they (allegedly) de-phased the traffic lights in the run-up to introducing congestion charging in order to slow down the traffic and increase the frequency of frustrating stop/start.
When congestion charging started, they re-phased the lights, apparently it gave an artificially improved picture of how much congestion charging had done to ease traffic.
There's a junction near me where they introduced that "shared streets" concept - no lights, no arrows, just a big double roundabout junction. It works well, everyone slows right down, no-one has priority and no-one rushes to beat the lights cos there aren't any. 🙂
In Cambridge they add Pelican crossings in to slow down traffic. The rationale being they can't stop car drivers crashing, but they can keep the average speed as low as possible to minimise injuries.
Traffic lights are very inefficient at shifting traffic across a junction. Watch a typical junction and see how much of the cycle is spent with no traffic moving across it at all.
It's certainly the case that one of Oxford's worst junctions flows much better when the lights are out. I think this is because it's made up of multiple junctions that are very short distances apart. Traffic lights have to shunt groups of cars into these short distances, so can't move many cars each time, whereas when the lights are out, cars are free to move individually.
I suspect that if the lights were removed permanently then traffic levels would increase until you had the same levels of congestion as you do currently. I think it might still be an improvement, as I think you get a better attitude when you treat drivers like grown-ups and require them to take to responsibility for behaving safely.
We persuaded one stupid driver that by sounding his horn at the lights twice,they would change quicker, and in the dark flashing your lights worked to make them change.
He came into work a few days latterand said all he got was abuse of the drivers in front.
Also seems as if single brain cell taxi drivers think that going into the ASL box makes them change faster.
ASL = advanced stop line for cyclists ONLY.
Why put traffic lights on a roundabout?
And for the non residents of chester have a look at the new traffic light controlled screw up that is called telly tubby land, near Sainsburys at the junction of the a41,a55, an absolute cockup, huge tailbacks, and more lights than blackpool illuminations.
and they replaced a roundabout with this junction.
In Cambridge they add Pelican crossings in to slow down traffic. The rationale being they can't stop car drivers crashing, but they can keep the average speed as low as possible to minimise injuries.
Making up for the death trap cycle lanes. 😉
Why put traffic lights on a roundabout?
There is no reason to do this.
Why put traffic lights on a roundabout?
I used to think this, then a local roundabout, which was a nightmare on a daily basis, had lights installed. Never wait longer than a few minutes now.
Why put traffic lights on a roundabout?
If you've got a solid flow the traffic going in one direction (usually at rush hour) then it can block traffic on other roads from being able to pull out, so traffic lights are needed to create some breaks to allow cars from the minor routes on. So often the lights are often rush hour only.
Traffic lights on roundabouts.... You're on a roundabout, make it through the lights, just get across the line and are stopped by traffic in front of you. Lights you passed go red, traffic lights from your left go green and the dicks decide that the rules of a roundabout no longer apply and try and barge on in, in front of you. WTF is that about?
A new set of lights has just been installed on my commute at a crossroads. The main road through these is quite busy with the two opposite sides being quiet roads off to different villages. They've made them 2 way with an odd turning filter where the cars go nose to nose before turning into said village roads. However there's no filter lights so you go when it's clear! Week one, bIg smash with a car passing thro the main run, shunting a turning car down the road! People don't like change, but these lights are poorly thought out at best!!
[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon) ]I give you swindon rounabout.[/url]
Are we that crap that we need protected from ourselves
Yes:
Week one, bIg smash with a car passing thro the main run, shunting a turning car down the road!
Traffic system designs need to account for the fact that a significant percentage of motorists are no more than loosely-trained penises.
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18072259 ]BBC link[/url]
If you remove the traffic jams, won't that just encourage more traffic until the traffic jams are back again?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand
Why is it at busy junctions when the traffic lights are out traffic generally flows better
That's why we have roundabouts, and the brilliant invention that is the mini roundabout.
In the US roundabouts have not been used traditionally but they are appearing now. That's why they have the flashing amber thing at night, it acknowledges the uselessness of traffic lights when there's little traffic.