Oh man oh man - I live over here too and it's driving me (no pun intended) and everyone I know around here crazy!!! Ugh. I talked to someone at the LRT booth at the state fair and they basically said this hand doesn't directly talk to that hand and as much as they've tried they are now calling in the feds to figure out this mess. Now it makes sense to me why the lights going east-west are still green when the trains are coming and the RRXing lights start flashing and the poles are coming down. Talk about a disaster in the making...
This is a gross exaggeration. The E-W lights are _not_ green when the crossing lights begin flashing. If the E-W lights just changed red as a train approaches, there is a short period when traffic is stopped in all directions.
I would actually prefer that they switch the N-S lights green as soon as the gates start coming down.
As for traffic being held in all directions for no apparent reason, I have seen that happen and it seems to happen more frequently over the last two weeks or so. However, it is nowhere near 30 seconds. 30 seconds is a _long_ time to sit at a completely stopped intersection. My best guess from experience is that it's more like 15 seconds. It _seems_ long but anything more than 8 seconds or so is going to seem long. I'll try to time it next time.
Traffic goes in each E-W direction separately for turners. Yes, I agree that the lights should have sensors that detect when the traffic flow is finished from one side. That will be quite a bit of work as it will require the road to be torn up. But it might be worth it.
I've never experienced any real problem with N-S traffic running turners or each direction separately. But I'm always traveling during rush hour when it makes much more sense to do things this way. I like the idea of changing the mode of operation once the rush is over. "Turners yield on green" works great when there's not much traffic around.
I think a lot of this has to do with the growing impatience of drivers. It's a symptom of our roads- addicted metro area. I was just out in the 'burbs this morning and couldn't believe how aggressive the drivers are, most especially on the secondard roads with stop lights and stop signs. People are way to anxious to get going for my taste (and safety!).
David Greene
The Wedge
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