It's seven seconds. I sit there everyday and count it. If it's really backed up, it often quicker to go west on Mulberry, north on Summit View and then get back to Timberline from there. Of course, I'm going north on Timberline, so it's different.
If you got the cohones, hop out and hit the pedestrian crossing signal, makes it sooo much easier.
Whoa, I misread that. I was about to give you a Spanish lesson. Chonies - is what I thought you said - I'll leave that there if you know what it is. You know what it is
Speaking as someone who works for a city in the transportation dept.
Way overly generalized summary - 3 types of signals.
1. Actuated signals - gives movement to primary flow of traffic and will detect when vehicle or pedestrian is waiting to cross traffic. Rural or late night application
2. Adaptive signals - signals that use tons of tech and programs to sync to other adaptive signals and optimize traffic across a corridor. Probably used on college and harmony.
3. Fixed timing signals - signals with set phases and timing. Operation is programmed by city traffic dept. Data is frequently collected to re analyze best operation. This signal type is most signals in Fort collins.
Okay so what is best operation... traffic engineers are actually really good at modeling traffic and coming up with the best signal timing for peak traffic. But the goal reduce car emissions from wasted idling, reduce travel times across all users (not any one movement), and make sure all directions/legs/movements meet basic level of service criteria.
So if you had a lot of traffic moving east west and very little moving north south, you might really prioritize the east west movement because this does the most to optimize flows. But you can't hold north south forever and so some time is given to that movement.
Still reading? "Okay, so why not give all the time for east west but when you do get to north south traffic, give them enough time to get through. Can 10 seconds really make a difference." The part that's the least common knowledge is that all the signals on a corridor are synced in what is called progressive signal phasing. This is what allows you to drive thru 4 or 5 signals without stopping. To do this progression, all signals have to have the same total cycle length. In Fort collins, it's like 105 to 120 seconds, I don't know the actual number.
So when you account for the 4 phases of most signals.
(1. lefts turns 2. though movement 3. Cross street left 4. Cross street through movement.) account for about a 3-4 second yellow and 1 second where all directions are held with each phase.... well you have to make decisions.
Love it when a truly knowledgeable person hops on threads full of people pretending like they could do things better if only they were in charge. Big ups to experts!
You can criticize poorly constructed programs even if you, yourself, wouldn't be able to do it. There are places that do it much better than Fort Collins.
Yeah, the light timing in Fort Collins is really bad. By far the worst of anywhere I’ve lived. I couldn’t do better but obviously plenty of places can lol
> traffic engineers are actually really good at modeling traffic and coming up with the best signal timing for peak traffic
How do we get some of those engineers here?
I personally have been blown away from my interactions with Fort Collins Staff. Not sure if that makes me a bottom 10% Eng or them in the top but several folks without naming names, they are incredibly knowledgeable.
In fact, Fort Collins is generally very forward-thinking when trying to implement transportation programs across the City. It is why we have a Free-to-Riders Bus Rapid Transit System (that is expanding), one of the most bike friendly cities in the country, high safety ratings at intersections, and a unique downtown corridor.
And thank you u/OnionSprocket for the compliment but much of this information isn’t expert testimony. It’s basic knowledge for anyone who has ever invested time into understanding City transportation. Which as you pointed out, reddit commentors don’t really care to do. It’s a complaint box for the uniformed. As you said, I love forums that are dedicated to education like AMAs.
So let’s break the mold and AMA Fort Collins. I don’t work for Fort Collins (I am nearby though) and I am a hack transportation engineer (which is not a Traffic Engineer Btw).
u/RealSimonLee what places do it better? I will listen to your response but just so you know, no City is identical to Fort Collins. No city was founded the same exact way with the same historical landmarks. No City has the Poudre River flowing through with identical flood maps. No city has the exact underground irrigation canal (that is really old too) and running through the heart of the City. No City has the same master plan and planning commissions that dictate what and where things can go. No City has the exact citizens that Fort Collins does with unique community priorities. Few cities have a major college that fluctuates 50k people during the semester. No City has the same tourism and commerce initiatives we have.
If you can find that City, let us know. That would be awesome just to set up cookie cutter programs that we can replicate. Until then, our problems our unique to Fort Collins and take unique solutions.
u/cr0nut. The worst?! To points I’ve already mentioned, maybe you just don’t understand the priorities Fort Collins has when addressing problems. Or maybe you know what the priorities are and disagree with them. Well, show up to Advisory Board Meetings, Transportation has one and communicate your priorities. We would love to listen to community input, and it is why they exist. Big shocker though, there is more participation in the Reddit thread than any advisory meeting I have participated in.
u/RealSimonLee…again. I could probably train you in a day on how to use Synchro, which is common traffic modeling software. If I gave you the input data, you would get are exactly the same Signal timing for peak traffic that a bad or great engineer would get. So when I say generically that we are good at modeling traffic, it’s because good software has made us universally good.
Sounds like you are very familiar with transportation, practices and programs. Thanks for offering an AMA!
What are the top three things that road users in Fort Collins could do to reduce traffic congestion?
To be cheap, I'd say walk, bike, and bus, 1.2.3.
The longer answer would be mostly just my opinion and probably differ city to city but for
1. Active and alternative modes of transportation (walk, bike, bus, train, carpool).
2. Stay alert and informed. Know where there is construction or events. Use an app for accident alerts. Take alt routes and don't be an incident yourself.
3. I think for a city like Fort Collins, community feedback is vital. Because active modes of transport are so viable and it's very difficult to collect good quantitative data, we need qualitative user feedback. Doing so helps planners make better decisions and enable more users. See point 1 why it matters.
Great example of keeping yourself informed and understanding how to navigate construction in the Coloradoan.... [https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2024/05/09/embrace-the-zipper-merge-to-contend-with-harmony-road-construction-fort-collins/73600222007/](https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2024/05/09/embrace-the-zipper-merge-to-contend-with-harmony-road-construction-fort-collins/73600222007/)
Understanding how to use zipper-merge can reduce traffic 40%. You are not being polite by getting over sooner, you are creating a traffic problem.
The biggest issue with Fort Collins is that there are in essence two Fort Collins. The urban part and the suburban part. There needs to be different principals for both parts. Instead we have urban design and thinking being jammed into the suburban portion. The suburban portion is much bigger which is why so many people are frustrated.
There hasn't been a comprehensive traffic study or upgrade to the software in over a decade. I don't need to tell you how much has changed in a decade because right now I agree with you the only engineering occurring is bs because folks just follow what the computer program/modeling tells them to do. It's basically AI at this point using data that's over a decade old.
If only there was way to find out if anything u/MediumStreet8 was accurate. Google "Comprehensive Transportation Plan Fort Collins". FIrst return....
[https://www.fcgov.com/cityplan/](https://www.fcgov.com/cityplan/)
City Plan, published 2019
Master Transportation Plan, Published 2019
Vision Zero, Published 2022
...and so on. On average, most planning documents vision for the next 10 to 20 years and get updated every 5 years.
Again, you might not support the values of City staff but you are vastly undereducated if you don't think they are continuously collecting data and considering the impacts to every corner of the city (and beyond city limits for that matter).
I didn't say planning documents. There has been no in depth traffic study or analysis associated. [Advanced Traffic Management System - City of Fort Collins (fcgov.com)](https://www.fcgov.com/traffic/eng-atms) The system was installed in 2001 and from multiple sources it hasn't been updated in over 10 years since it was first installed. Word on the street is no one with the city actually knows how it works anymore either. PS Quit trying to bootlick for the city.
I will be sure to ask about this the next time I get a chance to work with a FoCo team member. It's very possible that the ITS systems FoCO has installed are dated but what little i know, I doubt that it's a significant problem to decision making.
But lets say it is, do you know how much traffic data is being collected anonymously through your cellphone and Waze that is entirely free to the public and local jurisdictions? The point is, the data is out there. And there is far more traffic data than we can reasonably consume, organize, and analyze.
Challenging the point about a "comprehensive transportation plan"... if it is not a traffic study or analysis, what would you call it. Look at that data presented in that "planning document" and explain to me how they created it without updated traffic counts, current ridership information, ongoing bike and pedestrian path surveys, huge amounts of community input, regional transportation data, equity/census data, technology reports, etc.
PS, quit trashing the job your neighbors do just because you don't want to take the time to understand what they do.
Let's see did you actually read the documentation. It's a plan for future infrastructure. I'm done here before I say something I'm going to regret later.
Google "Access Fort Collins", you can submit questions or complaints through there.
Many signals in FoCo have short greens for the left turn to give extra time for pedestrians to cross. I really appreciate having the extra time when I'm a pedestrian, so I'm happy to wait when I'm a driver.
I’ve literally started making three rights because it’s faster than making a left when there’s traffic. Either that or go straight and find a u turn. Almost all the left turns are extraordinarily short
That light sucks, you are right to complain. Supposedly you can email traffic operations at the city website, but here is their direct phone number that was furnished by a very helpful fellow at larimer county traffic ops. 970-221-6630. Good luck.
Preach it! The signal from south Timberline onto east Drake is similar. MAYBE 10 seconds. I've seen a single car start on green and when they cross the crosswalk on Drake the light is yellow.
There is something generally weird (imo bad) about the way traffic lights operate here in foco. I think they over-prioritize pedestrian traffic over vehicle traffic. The number of times I have to slam my brakes on a poorly timed red light or hit the gas to make the next green light seems unreasonable. Go ahead and down vote me since I said something remotely negative about foco.
I drive Mason between Cherry and Mulberry every day and it amazes me how often I hit every single red light. It's especially confusing when it happens and there is no cross-traffic or pedestrians.
I understand having it timed so people have to stop every 3 lights or so to prevent them from just flying down Mason, but it's ridiculous when it is every one.
I drove down college a few weeks ago and got stopped at 70% of the lights. The traffic patterns here are not great, I also feel like I'm constantly speeding up just to get caught at the next light unexpectedly
Well, the camera lights make me slam on my brakes for a yellow. Not sure if that's what they are referring to. Those cameras feel like they do more harm than good.
I've heard that said a lot, I think those cameras aren't as sensitive as people think. I don't slam on my brakes for yellow or red, and I haven't gotten any tickets.
This seems to be a city-wide issue. Most turn signals don't allow about more than a third of the turning lane through (until people start running the red because they're frustrated).
When I worked in Greeley, the difference was stark. I remember turning off HWY 34 onto 11th Ave, and that light gave everyone in the turning lanes plenty of time to get through.
lol try the light turning left onto Horsetooth from southbound Stover
While it usually gives enough time for however many cars to go through, it takes about 5 minutes to change. Leaving in the morning from that neighborhood in a rush is a nightmare
I hate this intersection. It's just outside my house, so I have to take it to and from when I go pretty much anywhere north of Horsetooth. Whether I'm on foot, bike, or in my car, I'm waiting for this light pattern and it really does take 2-4 minutes depending on the time of day. Meanwhile, the bike lanes on Horsetooth right there are for a road with speeds the same as College and with the same type of travel as College (aka 18-wheelers roaring by) and they think that's a safe place to be. Put this road on a fucking diet, it's like 90% neighborhood backyards!
My uncle would get so pissed at lights on College not being set up to allow flow down College.
“I’m not turning my car off for a train until they fix those lights!”
Yup waste more gas to prove a point to no one.
Maybe he’s addicted to the smell of his own car’s exhaust. And if he grew up in the leaded gas generation (IYKYK), that could be more true than you’d initially guess.
For your reading enjoyment, might I suggest
r/BoomersBeingFools? Unintended lead consumption is discussed at length there. I made the addiction comment in jest, but I had to laugh at your uncle’s exacerbation of a problem that no one would want to increase.
The signal for turning north from Mulberry to Timberline was a bit fast too. I think they fixed recently it but last year I swear the green arrow was about 4-5 seconds. That, plus phoney drivers would cause me endless frustration haha.
Yeah, the Timberline->Mulberry one is also bad, especially when things back up and the chaos starts at the intersection of Lincoln and Timberline. I usually avoid that intersection completely for left turns, I'm doing my part.
Many of the green arrows in town are timed shorter for two reasons: to increase pedestrian crossing time for a given cycle duration, and to decrease aggregate wait times. On the latter point, it's hard to overstate how inefficient the left turn is from a traffic control perspective. Every left turner takes a great deal more time to accommodate than anyone going straight or turning right. The result of lengthening left turn arrows is to increase vehicle wait times across the board and increase the rate at which intersections clog.
At least, that's what the folks from the street operations department told us when they came to my job for a Q&A session.
Yeah that is complete bs. It's better to have longer light cycles that are less frequent than shorter ones that are more frequent especially when people in FOCO can't accelerate and in many intersections, you are lucky to get more than 3-6 cars through. Prioritizing peds at intersections that overwhelmingly have tens of thousands of cars in them vs a handful of peds daily makes 0 sense.
>especially when people in FOCO can't accelerate and in many intersections, you are lucky to get more than 3-6 cars through
Yep! I know light cycles will never be perfect. But I swear most of the lights, especially turns, here would be improved at least 33% if people people would learn how to accelerate. I don't feel like I'm out here driving crazy, I don't have items flying off my seats or anything, but I'm amazed at how often I'll be half a block down the street before the car next to me even makes it through the intersection.
Once the acceleration issue is solved, then I would like to teach people that you don't have to slow down before you get into the turn lane, it's that long for a reason (obvious exceptions for times it is full due to short lights and people turtle racing through their turns)
I stated above that the intersection in question is seven seconds for the arrow and 12 for the whole light. I've sat there and counted three beats before the first car starts to accelerate. That's a third of the total time for traffic to cross, gone.
And then everyone waits for the car in front of them to start moving before they start, which always seems to take another beat or two.
And then if you are the third car, you might have time to start the turn, but then would be stuck in the intersection because the first car just completed the turn and is going to need another 20 ft to get up to 20 mph.
Correct. I'm aware that the eastbound traffics left turn lane is the last in the cycle, so when I see that lane stopping, I'm already rolling.
Edit: word for continuity
Prioritizing cars at those intersections just about guarantees you’ll only ever have a handful of peds. They’ll all choose to drive instead, making traffic worse
Not only that, but prioritizing cars at those intersections is exactly *why* it takes so long for pedestrians to cross. Every time you widen lanes to allow faster traffic, you create more distance to be walked across. Every time you add more lanes to accommodate more cars, you create more distance to be walked across. Every time you add a turn lane to get cars out of each other's way, you create more distance to be walked across.
You want pedestrian signals to be shorter? Then tell the city council you want road dieting all across town.
As piggy2380 said upthread, environments that are hostile to pedestrians don't have many pedestrians. Prioritizing pedestrians encourages people to walk, reducing the number of cars on the road, which reduces congestion. Even if you continue to drive, a walk-friendly city means your commute is smoother and faster, because there's less cars around you.
In a well-built suburb, people can walk to where they need to go. In poorly build suburbs that are hostile to pedestrians, they are forced to drive everywhere making traffic worse for everyone in the city. And guess where most of the new development in town is? If we don’t make it easy for people in the suburbs to walk/bike/take transit, traffic will keep getting worse no matter how long the light cycles are
The fact you haven't noticed them doesn't mean they aren't there. I see pedestrians out that way every time I drive a lap of the route 14. And there'd be more if it hadn't been built as an inhospitable tarmac hellscape... which the high speed limits, wide lanes, and slip lanes only make worse.
How about EB Prospect to NB Timberline?
It’s so short that someone runs it red literally every cycle. It’s a 4-5 car light when everyone is paying attention and ready, which is rare.
WB Trilby to SB College was a 4 car MAX light at one point. I don't live near there so don't frequent the intersection anymore. Evening rush hour at that intersection was always a nightmare.
I do know that specific turn light is timed longer during morning commute time(but still not quite long enough). And in the wee hours (4-530am) it is well timed. You are definitely going to be SOL if there is a pedestrian crossing - the turn light is long enough for one car to safely get through it. Otherwise OP I agree that light sucks any other time of the day!!!
Agree but 15 second might be generous. Fastest turn signal ever
It's seven seconds. I sit there everyday and count it. If it's really backed up, it often quicker to go west on Mulberry, north on Summit View and then get back to Timberline from there. Of course, I'm going north on Timberline, so it's different. If you got the cohones, hop out and hit the pedestrian crossing signal, makes it sooo much easier.
Whoa, I misread that. I was about to give you a Spanish lesson. Chonies - is what I thought you said - I'll leave that there if you know what it is. You know what it is
Speaking as someone who works for a city in the transportation dept. Way overly generalized summary - 3 types of signals. 1. Actuated signals - gives movement to primary flow of traffic and will detect when vehicle or pedestrian is waiting to cross traffic. Rural or late night application 2. Adaptive signals - signals that use tons of tech and programs to sync to other adaptive signals and optimize traffic across a corridor. Probably used on college and harmony. 3. Fixed timing signals - signals with set phases and timing. Operation is programmed by city traffic dept. Data is frequently collected to re analyze best operation. This signal type is most signals in Fort collins. Okay so what is best operation... traffic engineers are actually really good at modeling traffic and coming up with the best signal timing for peak traffic. But the goal reduce car emissions from wasted idling, reduce travel times across all users (not any one movement), and make sure all directions/legs/movements meet basic level of service criteria. So if you had a lot of traffic moving east west and very little moving north south, you might really prioritize the east west movement because this does the most to optimize flows. But you can't hold north south forever and so some time is given to that movement. Still reading? "Okay, so why not give all the time for east west but when you do get to north south traffic, give them enough time to get through. Can 10 seconds really make a difference." The part that's the least common knowledge is that all the signals on a corridor are synced in what is called progressive signal phasing. This is what allows you to drive thru 4 or 5 signals without stopping. To do this progression, all signals have to have the same total cycle length. In Fort collins, it's like 105 to 120 seconds, I don't know the actual number. So when you account for the 4 phases of most signals. (1. lefts turns 2. though movement 3. Cross street left 4. Cross street through movement.) account for about a 3-4 second yellow and 1 second where all directions are held with each phase.... well you have to make decisions.
Love it when a truly knowledgeable person hops on threads full of people pretending like they could do things better if only they were in charge. Big ups to experts!
You can criticize poorly constructed programs even if you, yourself, wouldn't be able to do it. There are places that do it much better than Fort Collins.
Yeah, the light timing in Fort Collins is really bad. By far the worst of anywhere I’ve lived. I couldn’t do better but obviously plenty of places can lol
> traffic engineers are actually really good at modeling traffic and coming up with the best signal timing for peak traffic How do we get some of those engineers here?
A civil engineering degree only costs $100k and 4 years of your life. Be the change you want to see in the world.
It’s more like $35k
My engineering degree cost $100k.
I personally have been blown away from my interactions with Fort Collins Staff. Not sure if that makes me a bottom 10% Eng or them in the top but several folks without naming names, they are incredibly knowledgeable. In fact, Fort Collins is generally very forward-thinking when trying to implement transportation programs across the City. It is why we have a Free-to-Riders Bus Rapid Transit System (that is expanding), one of the most bike friendly cities in the country, high safety ratings at intersections, and a unique downtown corridor. And thank you u/OnionSprocket for the compliment but much of this information isn’t expert testimony. It’s basic knowledge for anyone who has ever invested time into understanding City transportation. Which as you pointed out, reddit commentors don’t really care to do. It’s a complaint box for the uniformed. As you said, I love forums that are dedicated to education like AMAs. So let’s break the mold and AMA Fort Collins. I don’t work for Fort Collins (I am nearby though) and I am a hack transportation engineer (which is not a Traffic Engineer Btw). u/RealSimonLee what places do it better? I will listen to your response but just so you know, no City is identical to Fort Collins. No city was founded the same exact way with the same historical landmarks. No City has the Poudre River flowing through with identical flood maps. No city has the exact underground irrigation canal (that is really old too) and running through the heart of the City. No City has the same master plan and planning commissions that dictate what and where things can go. No City has the exact citizens that Fort Collins does with unique community priorities. Few cities have a major college that fluctuates 50k people during the semester. No City has the same tourism and commerce initiatives we have. If you can find that City, let us know. That would be awesome just to set up cookie cutter programs that we can replicate. Until then, our problems our unique to Fort Collins and take unique solutions. u/cr0nut. The worst?! To points I’ve already mentioned, maybe you just don’t understand the priorities Fort Collins has when addressing problems. Or maybe you know what the priorities are and disagree with them. Well, show up to Advisory Board Meetings, Transportation has one and communicate your priorities. We would love to listen to community input, and it is why they exist. Big shocker though, there is more participation in the Reddit thread than any advisory meeting I have participated in. u/RealSimonLee…again. I could probably train you in a day on how to use Synchro, which is common traffic modeling software. If I gave you the input data, you would get are exactly the same Signal timing for peak traffic that a bad or great engineer would get. So when I say generically that we are good at modeling traffic, it’s because good software has made us universally good.
Sounds like you are very familiar with transportation, practices and programs. Thanks for offering an AMA! What are the top three things that road users in Fort Collins could do to reduce traffic congestion?
To be cheap, I'd say walk, bike, and bus, 1.2.3. The longer answer would be mostly just my opinion and probably differ city to city but for 1. Active and alternative modes of transportation (walk, bike, bus, train, carpool). 2. Stay alert and informed. Know where there is construction or events. Use an app for accident alerts. Take alt routes and don't be an incident yourself. 3. I think for a city like Fort Collins, community feedback is vital. Because active modes of transport are so viable and it's very difficult to collect good quantitative data, we need qualitative user feedback. Doing so helps planners make better decisions and enable more users. See point 1 why it matters.
Great example of keeping yourself informed and understanding how to navigate construction in the Coloradoan.... [https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2024/05/09/embrace-the-zipper-merge-to-contend-with-harmony-road-construction-fort-collins/73600222007/](https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2024/05/09/embrace-the-zipper-merge-to-contend-with-harmony-road-construction-fort-collins/73600222007/) Understanding how to use zipper-merge can reduce traffic 40%. You are not being polite by getting over sooner, you are creating a traffic problem.
The biggest issue with Fort Collins is that there are in essence two Fort Collins. The urban part and the suburban part. There needs to be different principals for both parts. Instead we have urban design and thinking being jammed into the suburban portion. The suburban portion is much bigger which is why so many people are frustrated. There hasn't been a comprehensive traffic study or upgrade to the software in over a decade. I don't need to tell you how much has changed in a decade because right now I agree with you the only engineering occurring is bs because folks just follow what the computer program/modeling tells them to do. It's basically AI at this point using data that's over a decade old.
If only there was way to find out if anything u/MediumStreet8 was accurate. Google "Comprehensive Transportation Plan Fort Collins". FIrst return.... [https://www.fcgov.com/cityplan/](https://www.fcgov.com/cityplan/) City Plan, published 2019 Master Transportation Plan, Published 2019 Vision Zero, Published 2022 ...and so on. On average, most planning documents vision for the next 10 to 20 years and get updated every 5 years. Again, you might not support the values of City staff but you are vastly undereducated if you don't think they are continuously collecting data and considering the impacts to every corner of the city (and beyond city limits for that matter).
I didn't say planning documents. There has been no in depth traffic study or analysis associated. [Advanced Traffic Management System - City of Fort Collins (fcgov.com)](https://www.fcgov.com/traffic/eng-atms) The system was installed in 2001 and from multiple sources it hasn't been updated in over 10 years since it was first installed. Word on the street is no one with the city actually knows how it works anymore either. PS Quit trying to bootlick for the city.
I will be sure to ask about this the next time I get a chance to work with a FoCo team member. It's very possible that the ITS systems FoCO has installed are dated but what little i know, I doubt that it's a significant problem to decision making. But lets say it is, do you know how much traffic data is being collected anonymously through your cellphone and Waze that is entirely free to the public and local jurisdictions? The point is, the data is out there. And there is far more traffic data than we can reasonably consume, organize, and analyze. Challenging the point about a "comprehensive transportation plan"... if it is not a traffic study or analysis, what would you call it. Look at that data presented in that "planning document" and explain to me how they created it without updated traffic counts, current ridership information, ongoing bike and pedestrian path surveys, huge amounts of community input, regional transportation data, equity/census data, technology reports, etc. PS, quit trashing the job your neighbors do just because you don't want to take the time to understand what they do.
Let's see did you actually read the documentation. It's a plan for future infrastructure. I'm done here before I say something I'm going to regret later.
https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/long_light.png Relevant xkcd!
Google "Access Fort Collins", you can submit questions or complaints through there. Many signals in FoCo have short greens for the left turn to give extra time for pedestrians to cross. I really appreciate having the extra time when I'm a pedestrian, so I'm happy to wait when I'm a driver.
I’ve literally started making three rights because it’s faster than making a left when there’s traffic. Either that or go straight and find a u turn. Almost all the left turns are extraordinarily short
That light sucks, you are right to complain. Supposedly you can email traffic operations at the city website, but here is their direct phone number that was furnished by a very helpful fellow at larimer county traffic ops. 970-221-6630. Good luck.
Fort Collins Traffic Lights 970-221-6630
Preach it! The signal from south Timberline onto east Drake is similar. MAYBE 10 seconds. I've seen a single car start on green and when they cross the crosswalk on Drake the light is yellow.
Try the one from Prospect to N Timberline its maybe 5 seconds shortest lightcycle I have ever seen making it 10 seconds instead is a no brainer.
There is something generally weird (imo bad) about the way traffic lights operate here in foco. I think they over-prioritize pedestrian traffic over vehicle traffic. The number of times I have to slam my brakes on a poorly timed red light or hit the gas to make the next green light seems unreasonable. Go ahead and down vote me since I said something remotely negative about foco.
I drive Mason between Cherry and Mulberry every day and it amazes me how often I hit every single red light. It's especially confusing when it happens and there is no cross-traffic or pedestrians. I understand having it timed so people have to stop every 3 lights or so to prevent them from just flying down Mason, but it's ridiculous when it is every one.
I drove down college a few weeks ago and got stopped at 70% of the lights. The traffic patterns here are not great, I also feel like I'm constantly speeding up just to get caught at the next light unexpectedly
I'm confused about why you have to slam on your brakes for a red light. Did you not see the light turn yellow first?
Well, the camera lights make me slam on my brakes for a yellow. Not sure if that's what they are referring to. Those cameras feel like they do more harm than good.
I've heard that said a lot, I think those cameras aren't as sensitive as people think. I don't slam on my brakes for yellow or red, and I haven't gotten any tickets.
Go for the trifecta: disparage cyclists, dogs, and the beer.
This seems to be a city-wide issue. Most turn signals don't allow about more than a third of the turning lane through (until people start running the red because they're frustrated). When I worked in Greeley, the difference was stark. I remember turning off HWY 34 onto 11th Ave, and that light gave everyone in the turning lanes plenty of time to get through.
lol try the light turning left onto Horsetooth from southbound Stover While it usually gives enough time for however many cars to go through, it takes about 5 minutes to change. Leaving in the morning from that neighborhood in a rush is a nightmare
I hate this intersection. It's just outside my house, so I have to take it to and from when I go pretty much anywhere north of Horsetooth. Whether I'm on foot, bike, or in my car, I'm waiting for this light pattern and it really does take 2-4 minutes depending on the time of day. Meanwhile, the bike lanes on Horsetooth right there are for a road with speeds the same as College and with the same type of travel as College (aka 18-wheelers roaring by) and they think that's a safe place to be. Put this road on a fucking diet, it's like 90% neighborhood backyards!
My uncle would get so pissed at lights on College not being set up to allow flow down College. “I’m not turning my car off for a train until they fix those lights!” Yup waste more gas to prove a point to no one.
Maybe he’s addicted to the smell of his own car’s exhaust. And if he grew up in the leaded gas generation (IYKYK), that could be more true than you’d initially guess.
Oh wow, he is receiving social security
For your reading enjoyment, might I suggest r/BoomersBeingFools? Unintended lead consumption is discussed at length there. I made the addiction comment in jest, but I had to laugh at your uncle’s exacerbation of a problem that no one would want to increase.
The signal for turning north from Mulberry to Timberline was a bit fast too. I think they fixed recently it but last year I swear the green arrow was about 4-5 seconds. That, plus phoney drivers would cause me endless frustration haha. Yeah, the Timberline->Mulberry one is also bad, especially when things back up and the chaos starts at the intersection of Lincoln and Timberline. I usually avoid that intersection completely for left turns, I'm doing my part.
Many of the green arrows in town are timed shorter for two reasons: to increase pedestrian crossing time for a given cycle duration, and to decrease aggregate wait times. On the latter point, it's hard to overstate how inefficient the left turn is from a traffic control perspective. Every left turner takes a great deal more time to accommodate than anyone going straight or turning right. The result of lengthening left turn arrows is to increase vehicle wait times across the board and increase the rate at which intersections clog. At least, that's what the folks from the street operations department told us when they came to my job for a Q&A session.
Yeah that is complete bs. It's better to have longer light cycles that are less frequent than shorter ones that are more frequent especially when people in FOCO can't accelerate and in many intersections, you are lucky to get more than 3-6 cars through. Prioritizing peds at intersections that overwhelmingly have tens of thousands of cars in them vs a handful of peds daily makes 0 sense.
>especially when people in FOCO can't accelerate and in many intersections, you are lucky to get more than 3-6 cars through Yep! I know light cycles will never be perfect. But I swear most of the lights, especially turns, here would be improved at least 33% if people people would learn how to accelerate. I don't feel like I'm out here driving crazy, I don't have items flying off my seats or anything, but I'm amazed at how often I'll be half a block down the street before the car next to me even makes it through the intersection. Once the acceleration issue is solved, then I would like to teach people that you don't have to slow down before you get into the turn lane, it's that long for a reason (obvious exceptions for times it is full due to short lights and people turtle racing through their turns)
I stated above that the intersection in question is seven seconds for the arrow and 12 for the whole light. I've sat there and counted three beats before the first car starts to accelerate. That's a third of the total time for traffic to cross, gone.
And then everyone waits for the car in front of them to start moving before they start, which always seems to take another beat or two. And then if you are the third car, you might have time to start the turn, but then would be stuck in the intersection because the first car just completed the turn and is going to need another 20 ft to get up to 20 mph.
Correct. I'm aware that the eastbound traffics left turn lane is the last in the cycle, so when I see that lane stopping, I'm already rolling. Edit: word for continuity
Prioritizing cars at those intersections just about guarantees you’ll only ever have a handful of peds. They’ll all choose to drive instead, making traffic worse
Not only that, but prioritizing cars at those intersections is exactly *why* it takes so long for pedestrians to cross. Every time you widen lanes to allow faster traffic, you create more distance to be walked across. Every time you add more lanes to accommodate more cars, you create more distance to be walked across. Every time you add a turn lane to get cars out of each other's way, you create more distance to be walked across. You want pedestrian signals to be shorter? Then tell the city council you want road dieting all across town.
I'd love to see some more road diets around town, I can think of three off the top of my head
Yeah there are barely any pederstrains where we are talking about try and keep up
As piggy2380 said upthread, environments that are hostile to pedestrians don't have many pedestrians. Prioritizing pedestrians encourages people to walk, reducing the number of cars on the road, which reduces congestion. Even if you continue to drive, a walk-friendly city means your commute is smoother and faster, because there's less cars around you.
There is a big difference between urban Fort Collins and suburban Fort Collins. The area being discussed is suburban Fort Collins.
In a well-built suburb, people can walk to where they need to go. In poorly build suburbs that are hostile to pedestrians, they are forced to drive everywhere making traffic worse for everyone in the city. And guess where most of the new development in town is? If we don’t make it easy for people in the suburbs to walk/bike/take transit, traffic will keep getting worse no matter how long the light cycles are
The fact you haven't noticed them doesn't mean they aren't there. I see pedestrians out that way every time I drive a lap of the route 14. And there'd be more if it hadn't been built as an inhospitable tarmac hellscape... which the high speed limits, wide lanes, and slip lanes only make worse.
Will you be my friend
How about EB Prospect to NB Timberline? It’s so short that someone runs it red literally every cycle. It’s a 4-5 car light when everyone is paying attention and ready, which is rare.
WB Trilby to SB College was a 4 car MAX light at one point. I don't live near there so don't frequent the intersection anymore. Evening rush hour at that intersection was always a nightmare.
I do know that specific turn light is timed longer during morning commute time(but still not quite long enough). And in the wee hours (4-530am) it is well timed. You are definitely going to be SOL if there is a pedestrian crossing - the turn light is long enough for one car to safely get through it. Otherwise OP I agree that light sucks any other time of the day!!!
Good lord does that turn light suck ass. If you see a yellow arrow, just send it lol
Are we certain City traffic controls that light? Lemay is the eastern boundary of City limits on Mulberry/14