While I enjoy vacationing in the south during the winter, one of my pet peeves is the traffic control system in the Orlando area. I have to admit that it seems a little better this winter, but that may be due to fewer tourists such as myself. It's not about the roads which are pretty good given the lack of the freeze/thaw cycle of the north. It's about the herky-jerky traffic movement patterns that simply waste time and gas.
The light synchronization on main surface streets gets so bad sometimes that I have resorted to taking the toll roads that are under construction rather than the surface streets whenever possible. This evening I was on a main north-south street that is a boulevard and three lanes wide each way. Start at a green signal and get to the next signal... at the posted speed... and it is turning red. Start again when the signal turns green and get to the next signal as it is turning red. That's infuriating enough, but it is made worse by the fact that these are secondary surface streets that are crossing the main street... not other primary thoroughfares. Those intersections should be flashing yellow for the main street and flashing red for the secondary streets by 9 pm.
At one point there was a line of vehicles on the main street at a bicycle path crossing that had the green light. How many bicycles do you think were using the trail that time of night? The federal government is making a big deal about pushing automobile manufacturers to build 1/2 ton pickups that get 35 mpg and cost $50,000 and emit no CO2, but nothing is said about the waste associated with really bad traffic management.
This is all over the U.S. So why not have a provision in all of this road building stimulus giveaway that links the funds to a 100% improvement in traffic signal management. All signals on all main roads should be timed so that a vehicle traveling at the posted speed can continue without having to stop for a signal when the road is at 80% of capacity or less. That 30 minute drive is reduced to 20 minutes and the gas mileage is increase 25-50%.
Let's get something for our money beyond more taxes and vehicles that automobile manufacturers can't sell because ... regardless of government mandates ... they are only niche vehicles that are too expensive with too short of a range and too unreliable fuel sources. Still looking for the hydrogen filling station? Have to wait for propane while some guy get 4 barbeque tanks filled? Too bad you have to go 50 miles and your plug-in electric only has a range of 40 miles.
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