Traffic Lights - good or bad?

[summerdays]

I watched this video:

http://amberlight.ning.com/video/the-case-for-a-nolights-trial

and I can't make up my mind.... I can see the point they are making but I'm not certain that in all cases it would work. Also I like traffic lights on large multi-lane roundabouts, in most of the ones around here I find it gives me a chance to get on the roundabout and slows the speed on the roundabout.

I think that turning off the lights might work at junctions where the level of traffic on all the roads is similar but I'm not sure how well it would work where there is a side road joining a very busy main road.

However I would like a trial to occur to see whether it would work in the above situations where I have my doubts.

I think rather than turning some of them off completely - as many serve the additional use of getting pedestrians across the road safely, that perhaps there ought to be another light setting such as a flashing green meaning proceed with caution. Could that work?

 

[Norm]

I haven't got to the end of the video yet.

When I was living in Munich, most of the traffic lights would change mode out of peak hours. At night, the lights on the "main" road would be switched off and the "side road" lights would flash amber. Traffic on the main road was, therefore, free flowing and traffic on the side roads would revert to Give Way out of hours.

It worked well, I didn't see an accident in the year I was there and traffic moved a lot better than 24/7 traffic lights.

 

[Jonathan M]

Flashing ambers are something that I came across a while ago in Europe, Germany I think. Crossroads & T junctions at night were controlled by just a flashing amber.

With increased traffic volume I'm not sure how well it would work, the examples I saw were in a semi-rural area of Germany in between larger towns, urban areas might carry bigger risks.

 

[D4VOW]

The largest Junction (two main roads crossing each other with 2 schools in close distance) that I commute past is always backed up full of traffic during peak hours yet on the odd occasion when they have failed I have had to wonder where all the traffic has disappeared to. It is the same for every set of lights in the area. I have always been a supporter of removing traffic lights, the traffic automatically slows down for the junction and all users manage to filter their way through in a far more efficient manner.

 

[HLaB]

I've not watched the vid yet but like Summerdays I quite like the control brought to traffic by lights it lets me merge in with traffic well; this is particularly when I'm traveling slow and the traffics fast.

 

[summerdays]

The local paper in Bristol is trying to run a campaign to get traffic lights turned off, and are asking for lights to be nominated. For me it would be the ones in the centre where the buses and bikes go - 3 sets of lights to control buses and bikes over a few hundred metres (Broad Quay). But as to the rest I'm not so sure.