Thursday, October 08, 2009
Traffic Signal Problems
If you're like me, you've noticed strange things going on regarding traffic signals in areas where there has been repaving. Lakewood's been prepping for a much better traffic signaling system, but it sounds like we are in the dog days now. A number of people, including me, have shared personal reflections with the city about traffic issues we know about. (that's sort of a bureaucratic way of saying I can't figure out how to make a legal left turn from School Street to Gravelly Lake because the light don't turn green :)
This response that I was copied on warns us that problems may not go away soon:
Ms. Mitchell,
Thank you for your concern regarding traffic signal operations on Lakewood Drive.
Your observations regarding traffic signal operations at 100th Street / Lakewood Drive (and Bridgeport Way / Lakewood Drive) are accurate.
When the paving work was completed in the area, the underground traffic signal detection was destroyed. Therefore the traffic signals have to operate on timed operation. As such, because there is no way to “sense” the vehicles, each direction of traffic has to be allocated a little bit of time in order to make sure every direction is served. A full cycle of serving each direction is over one minute. During the day, the timing is not so noticeable since there is a lot of traffic in each direction. At night – you could be waiting for over one minute.
We are in the process of hiring a contractor and procuring equipment for installing “video” detection at these intersections. This should be completed within the next 6-8 weeks. The tremendous amount of roadway and utility work in the City has put us behind on projects. We appreciate your patience.
Ouch. Sounds like people will be doing a lot of waiting. If you have ever driven in downtown Tacoma at night, you know how this feels. Looks like we will be feeling it in Lakewood for awhile. You can anticipate council members will be asking more about this.
Update at 4 p.m. Once of my Facebook page correspondents asked some pointed questions that I also passed along to City Hall along with a general query about what's going on. Here's what our public works director, Don Wickstrom, had to say about the situation.
... let me first clarify exactly what (staff) was referring to when she said the underground traffic signal detection was destroyed. What she is referring to is the wire portion of detector system that is embedded in asphalt pavement. That wire is installed by saw-cutting a 1 inch or so deep groove in the pavement followed by laying in the wire and then capping the groove with hot tar.
As a result, anytime a road is overlaid where grinding along the curb line is required, such as we did (with the Gravelly Lake Drive project) or the pavement is so badly broken up that it all needs to be removed, as was the case with the Lakewood Dr (110th to Bridgeport Way) project, you can’t save the loops (embedded wire) as it's just not cost effective.
So yes, we did anticipate having to replace them. and yes. it would have been nice had we had the video sensors in place first; however, with all the construction projects we’re juggling this year (finishing the Police Facility--over $9,000,000 construction contract; completing Bridgeport Way improvement 59th to Steilacoom Blvd--over $2,500,000 construction contract, constructing Gravelly Lake Drive Nyanza to 100th --over $700,000 construction contract, completing Lakewood Drive 100th to Bridgeport--over $100,000 construction contract), constructing Woodbrook/Tillicum sewer, drainage and roads project--over $9,000,000 construction contract to name a few) some times things don’t work out as planned.
As such while were sorry about that we are asking for a little patience.
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This response that I was copied on warns us that problems may not go away soon:
Ms. Mitchell,
Thank you for your concern regarding traffic signal operations on Lakewood Drive.
Your observations regarding traffic signal operations at 100th Street / Lakewood Drive (and Bridgeport Way / Lakewood Drive) are accurate.
When the paving work was completed in the area, the underground traffic signal detection was destroyed. Therefore the traffic signals have to operate on timed operation. As such, because there is no way to “sense” the vehicles, each direction of traffic has to be allocated a little bit of time in order to make sure every direction is served. A full cycle of serving each direction is over one minute. During the day, the timing is not so noticeable since there is a lot of traffic in each direction. At night – you could be waiting for over one minute.
We are in the process of hiring a contractor and procuring equipment for installing “video” detection at these intersections. This should be completed within the next 6-8 weeks. The tremendous amount of roadway and utility work in the City has put us behind on projects. We appreciate your patience.
Ouch. Sounds like people will be doing a lot of waiting. If you have ever driven in downtown Tacoma at night, you know how this feels. Looks like we will be feeling it in Lakewood for awhile. You can anticipate council members will be asking more about this.
Update at 4 p.m. Once of my Facebook page correspondents asked some pointed questions that I also passed along to City Hall along with a general query about what's going on. Here's what our public works director, Don Wickstrom, had to say about the situation.
... let me first clarify exactly what (staff) was referring to when she said the underground traffic signal detection was destroyed. What she is referring to is the wire portion of detector system that is embedded in asphalt pavement. That wire is installed by saw-cutting a 1 inch or so deep groove in the pavement followed by laying in the wire and then capping the groove with hot tar.
As a result, anytime a road is overlaid where grinding along the curb line is required, such as we did (with the Gravelly Lake Drive project) or the pavement is so badly broken up that it all needs to be removed, as was the case with the Lakewood Dr (110th to Bridgeport Way) project, you can’t save the loops (embedded wire) as it's just not cost effective.
So yes, we did anticipate having to replace them. and yes. it would have been nice had we had the video sensors in place first; however, with all the construction projects we’re juggling this year (finishing the Police Facility--over $9,000,000 construction contract; completing Bridgeport Way improvement 59th to Steilacoom Blvd--over $2,500,000 construction contract, constructing Gravelly Lake Drive Nyanza to 100th --over $700,000 construction contract, completing Lakewood Drive 100th to Bridgeport--over $100,000 construction contract), constructing Woodbrook/Tillicum sewer, drainage and roads project--over $9,000,000 construction contract to name a few) some times things don’t work out as planned.
As such while were sorry about that we are asking for a little patience.
