Time To Run These Red Lights

Central Oklahoma has a traffic problem.

Sure, it seems like we have really congested traffic at certain times of day, but the truth is we don’t actually have the traffic jams people experience on a daily basis in places like Houston or Atlanta. The traffic may seem unbearable but it could be worse.

What makes Oklahoma unique is the incompetence we endure from our traffic light operators. Dealing with traffic can be tough enough without having incompetent people making decisions that determine the negative outcome of our day.

Take Edmond for example. As someone who went to school there, lived there and worked there, I know Edmond really well. And because of the lights, I know it better than I should. I couldn’t tell you the number of times I have driven through neighborhoods just to avoid having to sit at a light for three or four minutes (and for trains that park in the middle of the road too, but that is a story for another day).

The other day, I found myself driving up as one of the first cars at a red light traveling south on Broadway at the intersection at South Ave. A store is to the west and a neighborhood is to the east. I timed it at four and a half minutes I waited in the turn lane before I finally had a chance to move.

Edmond is notorious for having poorly timed light operations (ever been to 33^rd and Broadway?) but it isn’t alone. Oklahoma City has pockets where you can be the only car sitting there, yet have no chance of an immediate light change. Why are we setting timers on lights that don’t have enough traffic to warrant them?

Yukon and Norman are other cities I have visited frequently that has lights that just don’t seem to match up with the routine traffic patterns that cross them.

Probably the biggest problem is when I hit a red light and I know the next series of red lights are going to be mine as well. Prove me wrong – I’ve experienced this way too many times.

We have a problem and it is a human one. And it is time we stand up and fix it. I’m not sure if it is laziness or a wanton disregard for using what seems to work in other cities. But it needs to change.

Sure, the  never-ending road construction and the texting while driving epidemic don't help but those are minor compared to what we deal with at our intersections.

Maybe you are fine with showing up late wherever you go. Just blame it on the red lights or the trains. But how many times do you get to use that same excuse before it wears thin? Do you really want to find out?