A year and a half ago, the Albany City Council was pressured into spending nearly half a million dollars on a new traffic signal that nobody except ODOT thinks is necessary. On Wednesday the council will be asked to complete that action by awarding a bid.
This was the question that arrived via email from an Albany reader: “What is going on with the traffic lights that are supposed to be put in at 34th Avenue and Marion and 34th Avenue and Hill?” As luck would have it, the Answer Man is in.
This is a small thing, really. But it still bugs me. I’m talking about those traffic light sensors in bike lanes that don’t do anything. Those wire loops in the pavement are supposed to activate the traffic signals for cyclists when no cars are present. Maybe they do this some of the time, but in my experience they […]
Next time the Albany Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission is looking for some project, it might want to consider the fact that many modern traffic signals ignore people on bikes. Some communities have solved the problem with gizmos like the one in the photo, a bike-crossing button similar to those routinely provided for people on foot.
So, for lack of a more exciting topic at the moment, back to the traffic signals at Ninth Avenue and Lyon Street under Albany’s Pacific Boulevard overpass. As you can see here, another episode of waiting at the light on Dec. 17 yielded another snapshot of someone coming through the underpass after the signal on […]
I’m developing what may seem like an unusual fascination with a set of traffic signals in central Albany. These are the lights that regulate traffic through the underpass under Pacific Boulevard at Ninth Avenue and Lyon Street.
It’s been a few years now since a driver from out of town swore he got a raw deal when he got a ticket for going through a red light at the Albany underpass, at Ninth and Lyon. Now, based on observations such as the one above, I’m wondering if he was right. If memory serves, […]
Have you seen those pedestrian traffic signals that tell people how many seconds they have left before — before what exactly? Before they can expect to get run over? The signals count down the seconds after the “walk” signal has changed to red. In Albany some of those signals have been in use for years. […]
Changes coming at 4 Albany intersections
Ever heard of a “doghouse-style” traffic signal? It signals when you can make a left turn, and at Queen and Geary and three other Albany intersections, it’s going to be replaced by a different kind.
Tags: "all road transportation safety", albany intersections, green bike lanes, traffic signals