New traffic signal timing causes rush hour headaches
The city is working through some traffic signal issues, as rush hour traffic was a mess Monday and Tuesday. From the Chron's Rad Sallee:
Motorists were supposed to be able to drive through downtown at 28 mph without encountering a red light. The new timing may have worked well enough with sparse weekend traffic, but problems multiplied Monday when people returned to work.
It was "a disaster" for drivers on Louisiana, the major northbound artery that leads from downtown to the Katy Freeway, according to motorist David Rodi.
"This morning, I was lucky to go two blocks at a time before getting stopped by a red light, and traffic is much more congested overall," he wrote in an e-mail to the Houston Chronicle.
And from KHOU-11:
Instead, drivers said the new system has led to gridlock during rush hour.
“It’s not working,” said one driver.
“Once we got into town on Smith everything started to back up,” said Kathie Miller who drives in the area.
[snip]
It’s a different story at rush hour. Drivers said in some cases their commute time through downtown has doubled or tripled.
So, after two days of rush-hour gridlock, the Public Works Department has put a so-called “tweak team” on the streets, making changes to unclog the trouble spots.
City spokesman Alvin Wright said the problems were not "entirely unexpected," but Rad Sallee's initial story on the new sequencing didn't mention that the city anticipated problems during rush hour.
Downtown drivers have had enough headaches, what with years of road construction and light rail. Here's hoping the city gets it right...fast!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/21/07 04:49 AM | Print | Comments (5)
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