Commuting - How many traffic lights do you go through?

Last week I counted them on the way home from work. 33. And you can call me a square, but I stop for every one of them if they're red. I enjoy it when other bikers cut lights because it gives me some great incentive to catch them and blow past them a little later on. :)

Hmm... I should count. I know it's well over 20 lights at least... If it's after midnight (which it often is) I slow down to about 5mph for them and cruise through if there's nobody around. During daytime traffic, I always stop for them since they're on their normal cycle and I won't be held up for long. If I were to stop for them at 3am, I'd be waiting awhile.

1, but it's a doozy. I go off-roading and bypass it anyway.

13 miles one-way 4 lights. The joys of country living.

8, in 15 miles. All within 3 miles at the urban end. The other 12 miles are the best.

Last week I counted them on the way home from work. 33. And you can call me a square, but I stop for every one of them if they're red. I enjoy it when other bikers cut lights because it gives me some great incentive to catch them and blow past them a little later on. :)

I commend you. I have 14 lights on my way too and from work and obey them all. On quiet residential streets, I may roll through stop-signs, but not until I have ensured it is safe to do so. My slow bikes can be stopped instantly if I need to, in any event and they just aren't fast enough to blow by too many other careless and reckless cyclists, so I don't worry about them: I worry about me.

8 lights 4 RR crossings in 5 miles. One light stays red for 2.25 minutes then turns green for 15 seconds.

Last week I counted them on the way home from work. 33. And you can call me a square, but I stop for every one of them if they're red. I enjoy it when other bikers cut lights because it gives me some great incentive to catch them and blow past them a little later on. :)

I have as many as you but I treat them as a yield. I know, I know it's wrong. I suspect you're traveling at 8 to 12 mph because that's the speed I travel on average while rolling past many lights. If there are no cars, I'll roll past the light, otherwise, I'll stop. If you're going to wait on 33 lights, I suspect, you're traveling very slow but I don't consider this a bad thing. It's good to go slow.

In my town, you would travel about 2 city blocks before having to wait (2-3 minutes) for a red light. The lights are designed to allow the motorist to travel 4 city blocks and no more. Since the motorist has the ability to acclerate, he can cross 3 to 4 city blocks before having to stop and wait 2 minutes. This way he cannot hit past 40 mph on city streets so the lights are timed to keep him below the speed limit. Unfortunately, these timed lights work to the detriment of the cyclist because it only allows them to travel 2 or 3 city blocks before having to stop at a red light.

In 8.5 miles I have 3.

If I take State St. I have 28. They put them every 1/2 block.

15 lights in 7 miles. Sometimes I stop, sometimes I continue through, depending on traffic.

6 miles - 3 lights. All pretty busy intersections so stopping & waiting for green is mandatory.

Last week I counted them on the way home from work. 33. And you can call me a square, but I stop for every one of them if they're red. I enjoy it when other bikers cut lights because it gives me some great incentive to catch them and blow past them a little later on. :)

I doubt you'd be able to catch me while I'm blowing lights. :-)

I doubt you'd be able to catch me while I'm blowing lights. :-)


I'll be your daisy.

25 or so for my 7.5 mile route-the one I take now 'till it warms up A LOT. Probably 15-20 for my 10 mile good weather route.

I stop and wait for all of them, or (rare) I dissmount and walk as a pedestrian in the crosswalk then remount. There is one light on my 10 mile route I allways dissmount and walk.

Whoo boy, I haven't counted but I have at least 1 a mile and usually 2 or more a mile so I likely have between 40 and 50 lights one way. There is one mile with 5 lights. I would avoid it if i could but that mile is next to the freeway and there are only limited routes underneath.

My short commute only has about 5 stoplights on it, but a usually blow through all of them.

12 miles each way. Let's see.. 49 blocks till I hit 1st street, around 20 don't have lights, so around 30 lights. Then its about another 20 blocks till flatbush, that's 15 lights. From there, 1, 2, go the wrong way, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, +3 along the bqe, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 in williamsburg, about 6 total till manhattan ave. then there's 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, bridge, 9, 10, wrong way street, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
So 30+16+6+17=70 lights (give or take 5).
I run every single one. No point in waiting.

22 in 17 miles. Of these there are 4 for which I will always stop if they are red. Many of the others I can adjust my speed as I approach to get the green, otherwise I roll through if traffic conditions are suitable.

I visualized my 8.7mi route and wrote down my step by step route, then added up totals:

-25 intersections
-10 of them with stop lights
-10 of them with stop signs (3 of those 10 are 4-way stops)
-The remaining 5 intersections don't require a stop (i.e. right or left turn from main to side street)
-7 of the 25 intersections are right turns so my stop time is only determined if there is x-traffic

Of the 226 times I have recorded my time on this route I have spent on average 3min 36sec stopped at these intersections which adds an additional 12% duration to my commute as a result of being at a stand still, plus an the additional unquantified lost time that is not recorded due to slow down and speed up.

Al

Whoo boy, I haven't counted but I have at least 1 a mile and usually 2 or more a mile so I likely have between 40 and 50 lights one way. There is one mile with 5 lights. I would avoid it if i could but that mile is next to the freeway and there are only limited routes underneath.
Paul-how many miles is your commute? Any streets you particularly don't like? I sometimes (not on my commute) find myself on Southern or Broadway, sections of which have narrow curb size lanes, not pleasant at night.
Al

12 miles each way. Let's see.. 49 blocks till I hit 1st street, around 20 don't have lights, so around 30 lights. Then its about another 20 blocks till flatbush, that's 15 lights. From there, 1, 2, go the wrong way, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, +3 along the bqe, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 in williamsburg, about 6 total till manhattan ave. then there's 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, bridge, 9, 10, wrong way street, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
So 30+16+6+17=70 lights (give or take 5).
I run every single one. No point in waiting.

OH MY GOD!! That's a lot of lights! Look at me, I shouldn't even talk.

That's the problem with commuting in Brooklyn. There are so many lights and there's one section where the ligths change on EACH block! Yes, that's correct! A motorist cannot travel no more than 2 blocks before the light changes red fast! A cyclist would have to stop at each block for two minutes if they were going to obey the law!

The first 30kms none, then about 9 sets the last 10kms. My old commute was about 35 sets over the same distance, plus 9 round-abouts.

CHEERS.

Mark

OH MY GOD!! That's a lot of lights! Look at me, I shouldn't even talk.

That's the problem with commuting in Brooklyn. There are so many lights and there's one section where the ligths change on EACH block! Yes, that's correct! A motorist cannot travel no more than 2 blocks before the light changes red fast! A cyclist would have to stop at each block for two minutes if they were going to obey the law!

Heh, you're telling me. People from the suburbs are always like, "oh my god, you run lights? isn't that bad?" and I'm like, "dude, there are like 70 lights each way, like hell I'm waiting for any one of them."
Cars are always screeching pass me at the light and screeching to a halt at a next when I catch up and breeze by.

There are areas in my inner city neighborhood with six lights on an eight block route. Designed to make you sit at all six. I obey them during the day, or when any vehicles are within a mile or so.

Sometimes, around 4 a.m., I will be at one of those lights, and there is NOT a vehicle within a mile. But, there are some folks drifting about on foot, looking as if they made parole earlier in the week. There is a specific paragraph in the traffic code that allows treating a red light as a "yield" under those specific circumstances...I have not read it, but I obey it.

Those red light thingys? You are supposed to stop? I thought those were just suggestions to stop. You learn something everyday.

None, they don't have very many here in India.

I counted 11 on my 5 mile (9 km) ride in this morning.

Paul

I'll see if I get this right, from memory there are 22 lights in my 10 mile commute. I'll count em on the wa home. (That's a lot of lights!)

Paul-how many miles is your commute? Any streets you particularly don't like? I sometimes (not on my commute) find myself on Southern or Broadway, sections of which have narrow curb size lanes, not pleasant at night.
Al

I used to cruise across Mesa and Tempe but work in Chandler now at Chandler Blvd and the I-10. 25 miles one way starting at power and broadway in mesa. I take power down to guadalupe then south on Lindsay and the rest is on Chandler/Williams field. If you know a secret route (maybe like the stonecutters secret tunnel from the simpsons) I would be deeply in your debt! So far the best I have been able to do is switch from using cooper/stapley as a crossover to Lindsay. Lindsay has less traffic lights as it is more rural.

I used to use Broadway all the way when I was in a real rush. Didn't like it but man could I get to work fast when I took it (18 mile commute in 48 minutes). I could time the lights in Tempe. I avoid southern at all costs. Broadway isn't too bad through Mesa. I really liked using the 8th street/Rio Salado Parkway to bypass ASU but that was out of my way even then. I use it when my daughter and I go to the zoo with the trail-a-bike though.

I used to cruise across Mesa and Tempe but work in Chandler now at Chandler Blvd and the I-10. 25 miles one way starting at power and broadway in mesa. I take power down to guadalupe then south on Lindsay and the rest is on Chandler/Williams field. If you know a secret route (maybe like the stonecutters secret tunnel from the simpsons) I would be deeply in your debt! So far the best I have been able to do is switch from using cooper/stapley as a crossover to Lindsay. Lindsay has less traffic lights as it is more rural.

I used to use Broadway all the way when I was in a real rush. Didn't like it but man could I get to work fast when I took it (18 mile commute in 48 minutes). I could time the lights in Tempe. I avoid southern at all costs. Broadway isn't too bad through Mesa. I really liked using the 8th street/Rio Salado Parkway to bypass ASU but that was out of my way even then. I use it when my daughter and I go to the zoo with the trail-a-bike though.
How is crossing under the 101 on Chandler during rush hour? I've ridden under there a few times to get to a Dr. appt. and had to fight to get a space to take the lane.
I live off of Southern so unfortunately have to ride it to go east or west - parts are OK but some sections have very narrow curbside lanes. There was one time around rush hour I headed from my neighborhood to make a right turn onto Southern. So I wanted to ride on the road and just simply couldn't even get on the road cause traffic was 45mph bumper to bumper. The sidewalk was closed for construction (I would have ridden as last resort) and after standing there waiting for a break in traffic to make a right I headed back home and got in my car. The city widened the sidewalk many years back, they should have widened the curb lane instead.

Al

Hi, I'm new here. I must hit 40 or 50 at least. I run any that won't inconvenience someone else, or get me killed. I commute 12 miles from Queens NY into Manhattan. If I waited for them it would take at least another half hour.

One of the reasons I don't run red lights is because every ride for me is a race and as soon as I start to break 'rules' then I will continue to need to break those rules in order to compete with myself. Then once I am in the mind frame that I need to break those rules to do better than before I will end up taking more risks and put myself at more danger.

Al

Last week I counted them on the way home from work. 33. And you can call me a square, but I stop for every one of them if they're red. I enjoy it when other bikers cut lights because it gives me some great incentive to catch them and blow past them a little later on. :)

Never counted, let me think . . . 10 one way. I stop at each one, if it's red. :) However, there are many more stop SIGNS, some of which I treat like yield signs.

How is crossing under the 101 on Chandler during rush hour? I've ridden under there a few times to get to a Dr. appt. and had to fight to get a space to take the lane.
I live off of Southern so unfortunately have to ride it to go east or west - parts are OK but some sections have very narrow curbside lanes. There was one time around rush hour I headed from my neighborhood to make a right turn onto Southern. So I wanted to ride on the road and just simply couldn't even get on the road cause traffic was 45mph bumper to bumper. The sidewalk was closed for construction (I would have ridden as last resort) and after standing there waiting for a break in traffic to make a right I headed back home and got in my car. The city widened the sidewalk many years back, they should have widened the curb lane instead.

Al


I can usually get up to the light without too much of a problem which is always red. After that I just slowly carve out my space as I approach the underpass across the intersection. Cars either slow down behind me or squeeze by if they are smaller vehicles. Wish they would continue bikelanes under the freeways but they don't for some reason. So far noone has given me a problem. I have noticed that I do get a lot more cat calls and other juvenile absurdity in Chandler and Gilbert than I did in Mesa and Tempe. Seems like there are more kids driving cars in those communities too, probably a connection.

13 miles one-way 4 lights. The joys of country living.

13 miles one-way, 1 yield and 2 stop signs. In 6 months of part time commuting I actually stopped and put my foot down once!

I made it to work one morning to realize I hadn't used my brakes the entire ride as they were still covered with road grit from the rain the night before.

"The joys of country living"... Indeed!

It's 5 miles if I take the back way, 5 if I take the normal way. Two lights the back way, 6 the normal way. So, i guess, as you can figure, the back way is now the normal way.

This is not fair at all! Does cutting thur a stop sign to the right count at 3:00 am, as a red light? I'm just a country boy!

"The joys of country living"... Indeed!

I couldn't agree with you more! The peace and quite of the forest!

31? (Depends.)

4 mile commute, 8 lights but one of them is always set to flashing yellow on my morning commute. Also it is very rare to hit every light red (or green) usually end up stopping for 2 or 3 reds on an average commute. I always stop on red. The signal on Lilly road only stays green long enough for me to get 1/2 way across the intersection if there is only myself or myself plus a single car waiting at red. The light turns yellow before a car can even get through the signal & if I don't accelerate quickly it is hard to clear the intersection before signal goes back to red again. Thanks df, been meaning to write the city about this. Don

Zero.

On the home end of the commute I'd hafta go about a mile longer to hit a light, on the work end I'd have to go clear over to the next town to find a light.

Small Towns USA.

Let's see:

Straight commute:
7.2 miles one way
2 stop signs
17 traffic lights

Extended commute:
14 miles one way
3 stop signs
22 traffic lights

About 4 of the lights default green to my direction so they aren't red unless tripped from opposing direction. One of the lights senses my steel bike frame and changes for me (left turn). The rest handle a lot of traffic so they cycle red/green regularly.

13 miles, one way, no lights, 2 stop signs which I only come to a complete put down the foot stop at if there is traffic (about once a month, more often in the winter, ski resort area), depending on road conditions and traffic I may only use my brakes as I turn into work (or into my yard), or sometimes they are engaged for 4 to 5 miles (my route has little flat - it's either up or down).

4 if i use lite rail, [which i usually do], I don't know how many when I ride the full 16 miles home... lots... but I obey them unless they are T shaped intersections... if I am on the top of the T, I just look and roll thru.[no way i can delay anyone, and if they hit me they are driving on the sidewalk]

but I obey them unless they are T shaped intersections... if I am on the top of the T, I just look and roll thru.[no way i can delay anyone, and if they hit me they are driving on the sidewalk]

I sometimes do this to in the same situation, but - I know I certainly get a good enough look to see a car coming, but I wonder if I would notice another cyclist who may be somewhat close to the curb. Well I don't wonder too much, I am aware of this and think about it. Just a comment that it can be easy to spot other cars on a rolling right turn, but what about other cyclists and peds, who could be coming from your right.

Al

8 in 1 mile.

There are many 6 lights in 17 miles since most of it is MUT, but there are several stop signs that no one on the trail stops for.

My commute is not that far, 13 lights in 2.5 miles. At least 4 of these lights are utterly, absolutely useless, and I used to blow the reds. I got stopped by the police twice in a two week period, however, and that made me paranoid.

Frankly, I used to be a better cyclist, as I was alert to *real* threats; now that I am alert to hidden policemen and obscure traffic regulations my best cycling days are behind me. And I stop at all red lights just so I don't have to feel that paranoia.

I do, however, get extremely steamed about how poor the traffic design is here in Seattle. There are some bad lights and boneheaded urban planning like you wouldn't believe. I tried writing a few letters, but that got nowhere. There is some construction near my house and they have police on site during rush hours to provide some extra traffic control. There's this one light which is green for each direction in turn, at about 2.5 minutes per direction. But there are never more than about 5 cars lined up... and NOONE going through the green light. One time I asked the policeman on duty there if he didn't think the light was poorly designed, and what the best way to get something done about it might be. He looked at me like I was nuts. "Whats wrong with the light?" He sits there watching it all day and he doesn't see it's stupid? I give up.

I have to stop at every #@#% light (4 lights) at times because each has a left arrow light and when I commute the last guys that are making the left turn do it just as the light is red for them. Now stop signs, well...

If I'm figuring right, 91 lights in roughly 6-7 miles if I stay on regular streets, about 56 if I take Central Park West from 59th-96th St. And only about 14 if I take the bike path between 125th and 34th. I'm very cautious by NYC standards (i.e., always slow/stop at reds to look before crossing, don't weave or track-stand in the middle of busy intersections while waiting for a gap) but even I can't begin to fathom the idea of waiting for reds to change if the box is clear. I know it's different in other cities, so if I ever move I guess I'll have to learn new customs.