Roads: How do you get the timing on a traffic light changed?

[Tuscani01]

The left turn from Lakeshore E on to Fort York Blvd recently changed to six seconds. SIX SECONDS! It's enough to get about three cars through resulting in a long line of cars waiting in the left turn lane. It's been like that for two weeks now. When changes like these are made does anyone actually watch the intersection and see the results? I now use the left turn at Fleet St and Bathurst instead.

I hope to be back working downtown again soon so I can resume walking to work. Commute driving sucks.

It was not changed... it is currently malfunctioning. It's been fixed a few times, but continually goes back to 6 seconds. Traffic services are aware of the issue and are already working on it.

 

[nfitz]

The left turn from Lakeshore E on to Fort York Blvd recently changed to six seconds. SIX SECONDS! It's enough to get about three cars through resulting in a long line of cars waiting in the left turn lane. It's been like that for two weeks now. When changes like these are made does anyone actually watch the intersection and see the results? I now use the left turn at Fleet St and Bathurst instead.

Call 3-1-1

In a dangerous situation, they will have someone on-site in 4 hours. Twice in the last few weeks I've come across malfunctioning pedestrian signals, and twice they've promised to have someone there in 4 hours (once at 10 pm). (one was the walk symbol in one direction was lighting up on the wrong phase - giving a "Walk" to pedestrians at the same time giving the green light to cars to run them over). The other was a pedestrian crosswalk, that I was half-way across before I realised that it had failed to light up - and when I tested after I found the button just didn't do anything). (odd that I've never in my life encountered such situations but then twice in a few weeks ...).

I'm not sure this qualifies as quite as urgency, but 3-1-1 seemed very familiar with what to do ... in the one case, I saw that the next morning, the broken pedestrian crossing had been temporarily converted to a non-stop flashing yellow until they could fix properly.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Speaking of poor traffic light timing. Has anyone else noticed it is impossible to get two consecutive greens on University Northbound between Richmond and Queens Park? Impossible!

Try going north on Parliament St. from Lakeshore. You're guaranteed that if you get stopped at Front that every light from King, Adelaide, Richmond, Queen and Shuter will stop you.

This city is just crying out for roundabouts. The Lakeshore area east of the Exhibition would have been a perfect spot for them.

 

[Forgotten]

Try going north on Parliament St. from Lakeshore. You're guaranteed that if you get stopped at Front that every light from King, Adelaide, Richmond, Queen and Shuter will stop you.

What's your point? Everyone uses Front, King, Adelaide, Richmond, Queen and Shuter to get to their jobs. Why shouldn't they get priority?

The only people that use Parliament to go north from Lake Shore are the unemployed.

 

[PinkLucy]

If they're using all those streets to get to their jobs, they should be on transit, not in cars.

 

[nfitz]

Try going north on Parliament St. from Lakeshore. You're guaranteed that if you get stopped at Front that every light from King, Adelaide, Richmond, Queen and Shuter will stop you.

Indeed ... I always get stuck. Must be designed for cars rather than walking.

The Sherbourne bus BTW I find is somewhat faster from Front/Sherboune to Sherbourne station than the Parliament bus. Perhaps they need to do the same to Parliament - remove parking and narrow the road.

This city is just crying out for roundabouts. The Lakeshore area east of the Exhibition would have been a perfect spot for them.

sure, there's some good spots around there, and in other places, where there's no adjacent buildings. But there are not an option for Parliament without some serious building expropriation and demolition. Can't see that happening.

A better option would be to toll the roads, and provide more financial disincentives for those driving downtown.

 

[Admiral Beez]

A better option would be to toll the roads, and provide more financial disincentives for those driving downtown.

Doesn't work long term. In London, UK the roads are now more congested than before they had the congestion tolls. Certainly the rate of population growth and transit use in London has exceeded the growth rate in road congestion, but in the short-term the congestion soon returns. The true upside is the new gov't revenue from tolls.

A question, how would you run tolls on those that live downtown? For example, I live at Parliament and Gerrard St, and work in Markham. So, I drive to Parliament and Dundas and then up the DVP to 401, and then eastward to Markham Rd. and then north to Markham. In the evening I do the reverse, with River substituting for Dundas. I am not really adding to any congestion. What tolls should I be subject to?

 

[nfitz]

Doesn't work long term. In London, UK the roads are now more congested than before they had the congestion tolls.

When I last visited London, the lack of congestion inside the charging area was shocking! I've seen some whining Nimbys commentating about it being worse than before, but I haven't seen any reliable reports.

A question, how would you run tolls on those that live downtown? For example, I live at Parliament and Gerrard St, and work in Markham. So, I drive to Parliament and Dundas and then up the DVP to 401, and then eastward to Markham Rd. and then north to Markham. In the evening I do the reverse, with River substituting for Dundas. I am not really adding to any congestion. What tolls should I be subject to?

Your not adding to any congestion? So what is that traffic jam I see when I have to travel north on the DVP for a business trip in AM peak?

I'd say about $1/km sound about right.

 

[johntauren]

I think you're stuck with the short light until this changes.
When are they opening access to Dan Leckie Way from Fort York?

As for the light at Fort York and Spadina, my understanding is that it gets its timing adjusted every 6 or so months as City Traffic Services monitors it. As more people move in on the west side of Spadina, and additional segments of Fort York and Dan Leckie open, the timing for eastbound will likely become longer and longer until such a point that the CTS pairs the eastbound and westbound phases.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

Fort York Blvd now connects between Spadina and Bathurst, it opened up sometime in the past month.
Only about 3 years since you asked.

 

[PinkLucy]

Fort York Blvd now connects between Spadina and Bathurst, it opened up sometime in the past month.
Only about 3 years since you asked.

It only connects all the way westbound; eastbound is open between Dan Leckie and Spadina but still closed between Bathurst and Dan Leckie.