RED LIGHTS on 125!!!!

[duststang]

What the hell is the deal!!!!!!!!! every day I drive down 125 and get stopped at every red light which seems light every 5 feet. Then to top it off seems like they are adding red lights any where they can. Just added 2 red lights on Amelia Olive Branch and now I think they are adding another red light 125 at the new KFC & Long John’s. Seriously aggravates the hell out of me because it takes forever to get anywhere and traffic is always backed up! It should not take 20-25 mins to get from Amelia to 275. At least synchronize them or something to get traffic to flow better. Every morning the light at Kroger’s turn green then the light at Bauch B. turns red! Quit adding lights because some moron put their restraunt or company in a hard to enter/ exit area. I mean that is not my problem and how is it fair that Dairy Queen doesn’t get a red light but KFC will. Anyways I am sick of all the red lights popping up everywhere and IMO it also causes everyone to use more gas starting/ stopping every 5 feet. That is my rant for the day and I felt like yelling at every red light this morning!!! What you guys think do we need more red lights, am I alone on this?

[beefcake]

What the hell is the deal!!!!!!!!! every day I drive down 125 and get stopped at every red light which seems light every 5 feet. Then to top it off seems like they are adding red lights any where they can. Just added 2 red lights on Amelia Olive Branch and now I think they are adding another red light 125 at the new KFC & Long John’s. Seriously aggravates the hell out of me because it takes forever to get anywhere and traffic is always backed up! It should not take 20-25 mins to get from Amelia to 275. At least synchronize them or something to get traffic to flow better. Every morning the light at Kroger’s turn green then the light at Bauch B. turns red! Quit adding lights because some moron put their restraunt or company in a hard to enter/ exit area. I mean that is not my problem and how is it fair that Dairy Queen doesn’t get a red light but KFC will. Anyways I am sick of all the red lights popping up everywhere and IMO it also causes everyone to use more gas starting/ stopping every 5 feet. That is my rant for the day and I felt like yelling at every red light this morning!!! What you guys think do we need more red lights, am I alone on this?

I hear ya, 7 miles, and 20 minutes

[bestracing]

I thought it was crazy when they lowered the speed limit a few years ago. I go to the Starlite Drive-In and it's crazy out there anymore. They need to add connector roads on the side for the small bussiness and route them to lights that are spaced farther out.

[duststang]

I thought it was crazy when they lowered the speed limit a few years ago. I go to the Starlite Drive-In and it's crazy out there anymore. They need to add connector roads on the side for the small bussiness and route them to lights that are spaced farther out.

Yes I agree that would be the best set up.

[IWRBB]

I'm an engineer, and pretty familiar with traffic engineering. You can't just throw up a stoplight where ever you want. All lights need to be justified by a study. The "rules" don't favor installing lights.. it's actually the other way around- you have to prove that is light is actually needed. Stopping traffic is generally the last thing you want to do as a traffic engineer.

The light timing is a whole nother matter. It's not cheap to wire an entire corridor to be synced up. All the lights have to hook to a central system for that to work. In general, intersections are "stand alone" when it comes to their lights. Only major roads get timed, and even then, usually only after decades of not being timed. It's very expensive to run all that cable, intall big stainless steel cabinets, and buy all the hardware to go in them, plus pay an engineer to figure out how to actually time the lights.

You're thinking- "just use wireless or something". You can't- it has to be 100% reliable or people can die. Would you sue if your wife died in a traffic accident because of a packet error in a wireless packet that briefly switched the opposing traffic signal green when it shouldn't have?

So, it really comes down to money. If your county is not spending the money where you think they should- go raise hell. Go to a County Comissioner meeting and let them know. Go to a Trustee meeting and let them know. If no one ever complains.. they'll never spend money to fix it.

[IWRBB]

They need to add connector roads on the side for the small bussiness and route them to lights that are spaced farther out.

That would be ideal. Limiting the number of curb cuts onto main roads is very important for good traffic flow. As is sepration of curb cuts from signaled intersections. Problem is- who is going to pay to build it? The connector roads would be well outside the existing right-of-way. Who's paying for acquring the land, engineering design, and construction? Again- it's all about money. The land owners don't want to give up another 80' swath of land on the ground they own. They looked at doing the side access roads on Colerain Ave- but ended up with the islands to prevent all the left turns into the millions of curb cuts. Best bet is to set up new commerical areas correctly from the start.. but that takes Planning and Zoning regulations being in place before development occurs. And I know you guys out in the sticks don't like zoning regulations in general :)

[jktruckin06]

We can set you east siders up with a route 4 bypass look-alike if ya want!

[06V6Andrew]

I say move to the boonies! 15 miles in 10 minutes :bigthumb:

[redfirepearlgt]

I thought it was crazy when they lowered the speed limit a few years ago. I go to the Starlite Drive-In and it's crazy out there anymore. They need to add connector roads on the side for the small bussiness and route them to lights that are spaced farther out.

The practice of minimizing entranaces and linking small business strip malls together has been in place in California for 25+ years. The traffic out there flows better than any place in Cincinnati because they have engineered the roads with proper clover leafing, anticipation of traffic flow with respect to light timing (manual and central control), the proper use of convrete medians along with LEGAL U-turns on left turn arrows, etc.

I loved and drove out there in the SanDiego area for 7 years. I was never more frustrated with traffic than when I returned here in 1993. I have returned to So-Cal several times and still the traffic flows better than here and they are much more dense in population than this area.

They may be seen as loons to many (and there are quite a few of those out there - no argument), but when it comes to trafffic control and civil engineering they are well ahead of the game.

The counties won't help matters. They are over consumed with football stadiums, collapsing casino structures, and large department store building permits (walmart and Target for example), and of course their own pocket.

[Mista Bone]

We can set you east siders up with a route 4 bypass look-alike if ya want!

I won't even go near the bypass now.

[IWRBB]

but when it comes to trafffic control and civil engineering they are well ahead of the game.

It's not the Civil Engineering or Engineers. Engineers in CA have no special design powers that Ohio's Engineers don't. I work with an Engineer who was an employee of LA county for a while- and suprisingly, he has no special roadways designing super powers. All CA has over OH is stricter zoning regulations and access management regualtions- most importantly thier regs have been on the books WAY longer than anyone around here.

We design what our clients want and what meets traffic safety and the roadway's governing body regulations. Clients don't want to spend more than necessary. Only regulations will force them to. So again, if you don't like it, go talk to your State/County/City/Township (depending on ownership) about their access management regulations. Chances are, Amelia has none and there's nothing to stop a developer from putting a new curb cut in 50 feet away from a congested light.

[bestracing]

That would be ideal. Limiting the number of curb cuts onto main roads is very important for good traffic flow. As is sepration of curb cuts from signaled intersections. Problem is- who is going to pay to build it? The connector roads would be well outside the existing right-of-way. Who's paying for acquring the land, engineering design, and construction? Again- it's all about money. The land owners don't want to give up another 80' swath of land on the ground they own. They looked at doing the side access roads on Colerain Ave- but ended up with the islands to prevent all the left turns into the millions of curb cuts. Best bet is to set up new commerical areas correctly from the start.. but that takes Planning and Zoning regulations being in place before development occurs. And I know you guys out in the sticks don't like zoning regulations in general :)

I know it's too late for existing places but it seems like they are building out there everytime you turn around and if the planning commission would force them to start tieing the parking lots together then it couldn't get any worse than it is now.

I'm not complaining since I don't live out there, just adding to the conversation ;)

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Dude i moved out of that damned town and i swear to God i don't miss one damn inch of it. I have to do down there every weekend to drop my son off to his mother's and i swear i come closer to homicide every time. Every now and then i'll drop into the pawn shop and check out their fishing gear and poke around, and that place is murder to get out of.

[IWRBB]

if the planning commission would force them to start tieing the parking lots together then it couldn't get any worse than it is now.

Well if it's straight zoned- as long as they meet the letter of the zoning law, you can't force them to do anything. If there's no access management regulations- they can't force them to adhere to them.

They could zone the area as "planned development". In that case there are underlying zoning codes, but really- you can do what you want as long as PC approves. Planning Commission has a lot of control in that situation. They can deny the plan if they don't like the access setup.

[2Kblacksleeper]

I live 1.3 miles from my work. (Home depot) and I have 9 traffic lights in that distance.

[facemelter71]

I lived in Colerain when they butchered the shit out of Colerain ave. I drove it for years without that stupid concrete curb in the middle. The truth is,it destroyed that road and congested the shit out of it from the moment they put it in there. I never had a problem driving to school early in the morning or driving home during rush hour before the concrete curb of death was installed. Now,its becoming almost as bad as 125.

on a side note,Engineers thought the Bypass 4 "super highway" was going to be the shit. FAILURE.My buddy lives exactly 1 mile from his work. Before the cluster,there were 3 lights from his house to work. Took him about 5 minutes from house to work or vise versa. Now,they have since added about 4 more lights and added about 10 minutes to his commute. Nice. Makes me wonder where the finger pointing goes when some thing like this doesnt work out?

[redfirepearlgt]

$497 million would have gone a long way to make a lot of people a lot less frustrated had it been put to use improving traffic flow, (not just BS studies) based on success processes used by other areas of the country. But instead we gave Mike Brown a platinum palace for a group of professional thugs that can't play football nor stay out of jail.

Then again groups like OKI would just consume the 497 million in doing studies which never do anything but suck the well dry. I often wondered how much money was wasted on the I-71 corridor proposal study about10 years back (light rail) that no one wanted and thankfully never got off the ground. Bet the amount wasted would have paid for a county wide traffic control center.

[IWRBB]

I lived in Colerain when they butchered the shit out of Colerain ave. I drove it for years without that stupid concrete curb in the middle. The truth is,it destroyed that road and congested the shit out of it from the moment they put it in there. I never had a problem driving to school early in the morning or driving home during rush hour before the concrete curb of death was installed. Now,its becoming almost as bad as 125.

on a side note,Engineers thought the Bypass 4 "super highway" was going to be the shit. FAILURE.My buddy lives exactly 1 mile from his work. Before the cluster,there were 3 lights from his house to work. Took him about 5 minutes from house to work or vise versa. Now,they have since added about 4 more lights and added about 10 minutes to his commute. Nice. Makes me wonder where the finger pointing goes when some thing like this doesnt work out?

I agree with your assesment of Colerain for the most part. I think some medians in certain spots would have been good, but they went way overboard with it.

Rt4 Bypass is weird. Seems like most of the time you are stopping at lights anyways. I've only manged to catch all the lights headed north once.. but I don't drive it that much. For those who don't know, they switched to the "Michigan Left". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_left

If you are on the main road turning left, you go through the intersection, then u-turn though the median back the other way, then hang a right.

If you are on the intersecting road and want to turn left, you hang a right, u-turn in the median, then straight.

What seems so odd is when you are on the intersecting road and just want to go straight.. nope. Turn right, u-turn, turn right.

[Mista Bone]

Where Michigan uses their left turn setup no heavy trucks are present. 4B gets a lot of truck traffic and when the pavement gets hot it will get chewed up.

Michigan lights are also timed to work together, like Telegraph for example.

[duststang]

gonna have to start running over the study equipment! ha ha ha

[90 notch]

I agree stopping @ red lights stinks..unless you pull up beside a hot rodder, LoL!

[akagreg3]

anyone know 747? lol seen what they did on that road lmfao supposed to be modeled after detroit, it the kind of lights where you gotta make u turns to go left, its a royal pita

[duststang]

yeah I have seen this in Jersey no left turns all rights kind of weird.
I just think sitting at red lights all day is a waste of fuel and time.

[qwk93ta]

I lived in Colerain when they butchered the shit out of Colerain ave. I drove it for years without that stupid concrete curb in the middle. The truth is,it destroyed that road and congested the shit out of it from the moment they put it in there. I never had a problem driving to school early in the morning or driving home during rush hour before the concrete curb of death was installed. Now,its becoming almost as bad as 125.

on a side note,Engineers thought the Bypass 4 "super highway" was going to be the shit. FAILURE.My buddy lives exactly 1 mile from his work. Before the cluster,there were 3 lights from his house to work. Took him about 5 minutes from house to work or vise versa. Now,they have since added about 4 more lights and added about 10 minutes to his commute. Nice. Makes me wonder where the finger pointing goes when some thing like this doesnt work out?

I agree with you on the Colerain changes, I lived there for ten years or so...I hated getting on Colerain and during the Christmas season forget it, 5 MPH max most of the time. As for the Bypass, I think it's much better. I drive on it every week, the only place that really sucks is the intersection of 129 because it's still under construction.

[bestracing]

Well if it's straight zoned- as long as they meet the letter of the zoning law, you can't force them to do anything. If there's no access management regulations- they can't force them to adhere to them.

They could zone the area as "planned development". In that case there are underlying zoning codes, but really- you can do what you want as long as PC approves. Planning Commission has a lot of control in that situation. They can deny the plan if they don't like the access setup.

Basically what I meant, just didn't want to type it all out ;)

[duststang]

I should tell the planning commission to stop approving these lights. not like they would listen to me! just rediculous when 7 miles takes me same time as driving to Reed Hartman.

[IWRBB]

Don't be so quick to dismiss your input. Despite what people think, most of these commissions are trying to serve their community as best they can. They aren't just a rubber stamp bought off by developers with money. If people show up and bitch- and give good evidence of what they are complaining about.. ie pictures, video, whatever.. they may just suprise you.

[Chunk94GT]

I hate going across 125. I only do it at work, and in a Tractor Trailer with 9000gals of gas grossing 80k starting stoping at every freaking red light get old fast. I will cut across 32 to bach buxton to go to amelia to eliminate alot of the starting a stoping.

[duststang]

I hate going across 125. I only do it at work, and in a Tractor Trailer with 9000gals of gas grossing 80k starting stoping at every freaking red light get old fast. I will cut across 32 to bach buxton to go to amelia to eliminate alot of the starting a stoping.

I bet that does stuck, I will cut across also but notice they are adding lights on the back roads.