Downtown traffic light synchronization

[C2H]

Hello all. I haven't been on this forum in a while and just wanted to ask a question. Does anyone know what happened to the downtown traffic lights being synchronized. I remember Mayor White enforcing that about 4 years ago. I was just downtown for the first time in a long time and noticed that the lights are no longer synchronized. It's very frustrating too because the stop n go is hard on my brakes and gas. If any one has any information i would love you.

[PapillionWyngs]

They haven't been synchronized since the 60's, as far as I know.

[barracuda]

The lights were synchronized on most DT streets until the last year or so. In other words, if you were traveling down Louisiana, for example, all the lights would turn green at the same time, and then yellow/red at the same time.

Over the last year or so, the timing was modified with the idea that if you go a certain speed, you can catch all green lights.

My experience is that this does not work at all. The lights are rarely timed well, and the result is that you get caught in multiple consecutive red lights amongst gobs of other cars. This makes it very difficult to get around any traffic if you need to turn, and the fact that the timing is completely unpredictable means you're basically stuck and if you turn you just get stuck at another red light. I wish they'd go back to the old synchronization method.

[C2H]

Thank you for your answer. I'm not sure I thought the synchronization worked well when I'd be down here visiting my girlfriend around 2004/2005. At least once the green lights hit you could go a constant speed. Now its stop n go, go 10 feet then stop. Something needs to be done!

[travelguy_73]

The new sychronization works on selected streets. I believe all north-south streets are decent enough, but crosstown are mostly a mess. The problem I have with crosstown is it forces all traffic to selected streets (Capitol, Texas, Pierce, St Joseph), because all of the others are completely out of whack.

I know that this new sync scheme calms traffic and so there isn't a need to race down streets and catch as many green lights as you can, but overall it's a mess.

[HTX]

I use Pierce and St. Joe from Brazos/Smith to 45S/N all the time and I have noticed an improvement in the timing over the past couple of months. The change has been so significant that I have wondered about it. I'll vote to leave it as is.

[rsb320]

They changed the light timing the week of Thanksgiving 2007. IMO it has totally screwed up rush hour mobility. Sure, it works fine during the day or weekends, but who cares. They've got it backwards. The light ahead of you should turn green first, allowing the cars on the block ahead to get moving. As it is now, you go about a half a block and are stopped by the cars at the next block. This causes the block behind to back up into the cross-intersections. I think they've just thrown up there hands and decided that they are not going to be able to figure out the math of it.

[JLWM8609]

The current timing scheme works fine in light traffic. Though, there should be a way to revert the controllers to go to the old "all green/all red" phase during rush hour.

[desirous]

The new scheme is wonderful. I live DT and can live without morons going down Travis at 60mph trying to catch all the greens.

[burlesona]

The new scheme is wonderful. I live DT and can live without morons going down Travis at 60mph trying to catch all the greens.

Agreed. I live in Midtown, and find the sync is working really well. I can get across downtown in usually one or two cycles, and a few days ago I made it from Franklin to Gray on Smith St. in one cycle, no stop.

[rsb320]

I agree that it must be nice for those living downtown, but it is just aweful getting in and out at rush hours. I get on Milam at about Preston, going south, in the evenings. I can get through Prairie, Texas and Capital, but after that, I get stuck at every stinking light all the way to St. Joes or Pierce. You go half a block and just wait for the light to cycle and hope the cross street traffic doesn't back up into your intersection. I just wish they would make adjustments for high traffic times. If I leave at 4:00 or go out for lunch, it rocks.

[Subdude]

I agree that it must be nice for those living downtown, but it is just aweful getting in and out at rush hours. I get on Milam at about Preston, going south, in the evenings. I can get through Prairie, Texas and Capital, but after that, I get stuck at every stinking light all the way to St. Joes or Pierce. You go half a block and just wait for the light to cycle and hope the cross street traffic doesn't back up into your intersection. I just wish they would make adjustments for high traffic times. If I leave at 4:00 or go out for lunch, it rocks.

It could well be that at high traffic periods the number of cars and their slow speeds mean that synchronization hits a physical constraint and simply won't work. I think even at low traffic times it is difficult to pull off well due to the number of variables in traffic flow.

[musicman]

It could well be that at high traffic periods the number of cars and their slow speeds mean that synchronization hits a physical constraint and simply won't work. I think even at low traffic times it is difficult to pull off well due to the number of variables in traffic flow.

the downtown wasn't all sync'd up. this is particularly noticable on pease, st jo and pierce, west of main. you can drive on st jo and when you go west of main it just doesn't work but up until that point, it's fairly effective.