dfvanden

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.

cryogenic

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.

bkrownd

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

Gojohnnygo.

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

andygates

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

EnigManiac

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.

GeezerGeek

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

Dahon.Steve

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.

sbhikes

In 8.5 miles I have 3.

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

jerrryhazard

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

nick burns

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

junioroverlord

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

SamHouston

I'll be your daisy.

Camel

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.

Paul L.

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.

BostonFixed

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

slvoid

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.

AndrewP

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.

noisebeam

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

noisebeam

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

Dahon.Steve

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!

Dutchy

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

slvoid

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.

alanbikehouston

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.

nycm'er

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