A good response to reporting confusing traffic lights

Brendan Burgess

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On 5th November I was chatting to a friend outside the Dropping Well in Milltown when I heard a lot of car horns blaring. The lights had gone green, and I just assumed that the driver was a bit dozy. But it happened twice more in the next 5 minutes.

I reported the traffic lights as confusing and got an email back today to say that the engineer reviewed them and agreed with me and that the contractors had changed the layout on Wednesday.

Brendan
 
You often see confusing lights at large junctions. Some drivers get a green light to proceed and make a left or right turn and are then faced with a red light. The red light is not for them, but rather for the traffic at the other entrance to the junction, but they stop nonetheless.

Chaos then ensues.
 
You often see confusing lights at large junctions. Some drivers get a green light to proceed and make a left or right turn and are then faced with a red light. The red light is not for them, but rather for the traffic at the other entrance to the junction, but they stop nonetheless.
Chaos then ensues.

I've seen that happen in a lot of places where there are pedestrian lights also where the car is turning right, to be honest I am not sure what can be done e.g. the exit from East Point Business Park onto Alfie Byrne Road. The light goes green at the T-Junction, they turn right and stop at the red light for the cars going straight. But that red light has to be there to stop the cars going straight. The pedestrian light is not showing green man, which is something to look out if unsure. It is all part of same junction.
 
I used to notice this on Merrion square at the junction beside the maternity hospital
Some people coming from Holles street would turn left onto Mount street see a red light and stop,
not realising that that traffic light is for the traffic stopped on Merrion square N and not them

Since the first lockdown and now this second lockdown I've noticed in and around the DLRCC area
that the sequence or more correctly the time a light stays green on some junctions has shortened considerably
Sometimes only one or two cars can get through before the light turns
I presume these traffic lights have some type of variable timer that reacts to heavy or light traffic and adjusts accordingly
Another thing I noticed while out cycling and stopped at lights is they won't turn green for me as a cyclist
they only turn green when a car stops at the lights or after a certain time limit which could easily be five plus minutes
which I should add is playing havoc with my PBs on Strava
 
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Since the first lockdown and now this second lockdown I've noticed in and around the DLRCC area
that the sequence or more correctly the time a light stays green on some junctions has shortened considerably
Sometimes only one or two cars can get through before the light turns
I presume these traffic lights have some type of variable timer that reacts to heavy or light traffic and adjusts accordingly

I think I heard they have been flipped into light traffic mode centrally to allow more pedestrian green light cycles to encourage social distancing so that you don't have group of pedestrians waiting at light together. This makes sense e.g. in city centre but many of the affected locations are suburban.
 
I hadn't realised that fixyourstreet.ie now operates for all Council activities throughout the estate.

Categories
Graffiti
Leaks and Drainage
Litter and dumping
Road or path defects
Street lighting
Tree and grass maintenance

It doesn't mention traffic lights, but that might be "road defects"

And you can see everyone else's reports here: http://www.fixyourstreet.ie/reports

Brendan
 
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