Traffic Light Variations

Discussion in 'The Bench' started by 2manybuicks, Jul 30, 2020.

  1. Hawken

    Hawken Hawken

    I have some complaints of round-a-bouts, but the fact is that round-a-bouts move more multidirectional traffic than any other type of intersection and it's not even close to the next most efficient design. Your head better be on a swivel, though.

    And, that's another reason various states' DOTs are rediscovering them: moving traffic quicker and less fuel burn (emissions) while sitting waiting through a cycle.
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2020
  2. LouV

    LouV Silver Level contributor

    We are getting roundabouts all over Indiana They are 2 lane gizmos so you can have someone in the inside lane make a right turn in front if you are in the outside lane and going straight through. We also have some areas that have 2 circles next to each other. Everyone thinks they are a NASCAR driver going around them.
     
  3. punk55

    punk55 West Texas Buicks

    Aah, round-a-bouts, you turn right to go right, you turn right to go straight, you turn right to go left, and you turn right to u turn. I like them but don’t have many in West Texas
     
  4. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    Roundabouts (in Massachusetts they are called rotaries) are nothing new. As long as they are large enough, they are the most efficient intersection design. Myth Busters did a segment on this some years ago. Here in downtown Naples FL, several small rotaries have been built. They work well for passenger cars, but I think things could get ugly for semis and even buses and large straight trucks.
    I have heard many drivers complain about rotaries, but my (tactful) feeling is that if you are too stupid to figure out a rotary, you are too stupid to be driving a motor vehicle.
     
  5. jay3000

    jay3000 RIP 1-16-21

    My father is color blind. Worldwide there are about 300 million people that are. That's about the population of the USA. So if you start messing around with the orientation of the traffic signals it makes it pretty tough for some.

    In Staunton VA the lights in the downtown area are horizontally post mounted on the corner of the intersection not far above head level.
     
  6. newmexguy

    newmexguy Well-Known Member

    You can thank the French for that. DC was "modeled" after Paris to best of belief. Lafayette and the French Army helped finish off the British in the revolution. The French submitted plans for the new capital.
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2020
  7. Nailhead in a 1967

    Nailhead in a 1967 Kell-Mnown Wember

    i saw countdown timers on traffic lights in asia:
    (for the red and also for the green lights)

     
  8. gstewart

    gstewart Well-Known Member

    WE have what we call "advanced green light" for left turns at heavily travelled intersections. This light appears before straight thru travel. It shuts off after several seconds to then allow pass thru light. U can still turn after the intersection is cleared.
     
  9. Nailhead in a 1967

    Nailhead in a 1967 Kell-Mnown Wember

    not paris but versailles.
    designed by pierre charles l'enfant

    L'Enfant called for a town spread across 6,000 acres and more than nine square miles.
    It was cruciform-shaped and proposed two high points on which to situate the President's House and the house for Congress, respectively (connecting them via axes intersecting at right angles), along with a rectangular grid of streets, notes historian Mark Gelernter.

    As L'Enfant wrote:
    "Having determined some principal points to which I wished to make

    others subordinate, I made the distribution regular with every street at
    right angles, North and South, east and west, and afterwards opened some in different directions …."


    L'Enfant focused particularly on sightlines for the new capital: he created vistas which highlighted specific monuments to denote the government's power.
    These were design tactics familiar to L'Enfant from his days in France.
    In fact, they were elements borrowed directly from the plan for the gardens at the Palace of Versailles and its architect, Andre Le Notre.
     
  10. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    I rather doubt that automobiles were a consideration when Washington, D.C. was designed.
     
  11. 2manybuicks

    2manybuicks Founders Club Member

    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  12. yachtsmanbill

    yachtsmanbill Well-Known Member


    We seem to have several like this that are coupled with HEAVY pedestrian traffic on the Mariners Trail, a walking bike path along the lakeshore. One in particular has the approach lane split into TWO and enter the R/A with an island between. The walkway has to cross that several times TIMES four. You MUST YIELD to some a$$hole walking with plugs in his ears or texting about the upcoming brain surgery he gas to perform, or maybe its just about the intergalactic terrorist thugs from GLARNK, with all the guys and everything. The word up here is THEY SUCK, and rightfully so.
    That beautiful new 2640 foot dragstrip is ALL 25 mph looking west. Its nice enough to land a learjet on! ws

    z97.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  13. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    Somehow we got to traffic patterns - so, Northern Virginia, not to be confused with any other part of Virginia or any other state for that matter, has decided that the figure 8 is the right way to do highway overpasses. For those of you familiar with demolition derbies or 1940's racing, the figure 8 is basically dodge ball with cars. No cloverleafs, those are so passe'!
    figure 8.JPG
    Notice the left lane and the right lane change sides on 15 as they go over 66. At least they added traffic lights (back on subject!) so the cross traffic has to stop! Now they are adding these to every overpass with ramps on 66 going east to the beltway, about 4 major roads. Your tax dollars at work.
     
  14. 1972Mach1

    1972Mach1 Just some M.M.O.G. guy.....

    12lives likes this.
  15. 2manybuicks

    2manybuicks Founders Club Member

    Dang thread hijackers! But I'm pretty bad about that myself, so I'll play along.:D

    If we were founding cities nowadays, we wouldn't put them on rivers. Rivers passing through the middle of town just cause traffic issues due to limitations imposed by the number of bridges.

    Old cities also have the disadvantage of being established before cars were around. Orlando has no excuse whatsoever for being on that list of worst-designed cities. 40 years ago it was a blank slate, and they still screwed it up.

    Similarly, south florida has no excuse -- the good folks in charge still decided that one or two east-west freeways were enough for the whole dang place. Yeesh.
     
  16. 1972Mach1

    1972Mach1 Just some M.M.O.G. guy.....

    Back on point about my city ;):D.....We've just started implementing the blinking yellow left turn lights, and have added about 10 roundabouts in the last 5 years because our street system has multiple places where 5, 6, 0r 7 streets all converge in one spot. There's a lot of black skid marks going over the roundabouts from people having no idea they are there or being unable to make it around in an 18 wheeler.
     
  17. yachtsmanbill

    yachtsmanbill Well-Known Member


    Took me the longest time to figger out Miami /Dade grid systems. NW 36th st and NW 38th ave. Now its a breeze.
    Dont confuse it with NE 36th st and NE 5th ave. ws
     
  18. FJM568

    FJM568 Well-Known Member

    I don't get it. How in the hell is this better than a cloverleaf. Cloverleaf you don't need to stop, traffic keeps moving. Now you have traffic lights at each end of the bridge. I am losing a mile or two per gallon just waiting at all these damn traffic lights in my city.

    Are there any civil engineers that can explain how it's better? Is it newly graduated civil engineers that are coming up with this or what?

    It sucks!
     
    yachtsmanbill likes this.
  19. yachtsmanbill

    yachtsmanbill Well-Known Member

    I agree... but you do hafta include land $$$! Even up here, every stop light exit ramp and overpass needs a ton (!) of fill to make grading possible, thusly, every one has one or two small lakes where the extra earth came from. I guess those, also used as retention ponds for rain water runoff, are good for the farmers for irrigation. So now with a smaller foot print theres space at every one for a Crack Arnolds, Menards, Homo-depot or at least a mini mall with 10-20 closed stores due to selling overpriced chinese junk.
    Of course theres the $$$ saving the taxpayer for 100,000 less yards of concrete plus the labor, which forces those tradesmen to flip burgers at that crack arnolds. Road construction is a vicious circle! Dont forget the graft involved. Its harder to skim when property for the project needs to be bought.

    Speaking of... ever notice all the new building going on for the malls etc? Theres tons of vacant stuff thats available, but where do you skim off rentals or even sales? Who in the hell is gonna account for an extra buck on a 2x4? Dont forget that project is gonna take 3 million 2x4's of GMO fast grown chinalumber plus the nails. Dont forget to include the state funded training programs for the trades. Its all about the almighty burger.
    End of rant! Well for today anyway LOL... ws
     

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