What are the worst traffic lights in Canberra?

dkNigs said :

Are traffic engineers in the ACT incompetent, lazy, or they just stopped hiring them sometime in the early 00’s?

Outsourced, you’d reckon. To Bangalore, you’d reckon. They’d look out the window at Bangalore traffic and figure they’re doing a bang-up job in Cbr.

Either that, or it’s the job they saved for the work experience kid. And his heart clearly wasn’t in it.

JC said :

pink little birdie said :

The lights of Allawoona and Ginninderra drive but only because it’s a 3 way intersection and there are idiots who turn right from the straight lane out of Allawoona when it’s a green straight but a red right turn arrow. The only reason the lights is in that configuration is for pedestrians crossing Ginninderra drive on the east side of the intersection.
It will be better when Lawson is up or they build a path between Allawoona and Aikman on the south side of Ginninderra Drive.

Was trying to work out what you were talking about so opened up google maps. The zoomed out image shows the pre-lights configuration, but the zoomed in one shows EXACTLY what you are talking about, including a red ute turning right from the left lane. Obviously it isn’t right, but I can see why some may think that it is ok. Personally until Lawson is connected they should probably allow it, there are plenty of T intersections where it is allowed.

I don’t mind them turning from that lane when there is a green arrow. It’s the issue that there they turn right on a green straight and red arrow. The only time the lights are in that configuration is when a pedestrain is trying to cross with the green man accross the road where the cars are turning into.

It’s a little better now that the path along the north of Ginninderra is open all the way (people just cross at the next 4 way one which is way safer). But when it’s a 4 way it should be slower but safer.

dkNigs said :

The ones outside bloody Bunnings in Belconnen. They just put them in and turned them on. No timing with the lights before or after. They constantly kill what should be a green run up Belconnen Way.

+1

Road_Monkey said :

Worst lights in Canberra? None, its the ones in Sydney or Melbourne. After being in those cities Canberra doesn’t look so bad.

I have the opposite experience. I go to Sydney reasonably often to visit family and the lights are nowhere near as painful as in Canberra. Driving on major roads like the Pacific Highway or Pennant Hills Rd, sure there are some red lights – but it wouldn’t be more than a quarter of the time. I actually feel I’m making progress rather than bunny hopping down the street with a red light at every intersection. I was so irritated with Canberra lights after one interstate trip that I kept a tally for next couple of weeks – 66% were red, even though I was generally on major roads travellng in what I’d have thought was the dominant direction for the time of day.

pink little birdie said :

The lights of Allawoona and Ginninderra drive but only because it’s a 3 way intersection and there are idiots who turn right from the straight lane out of Allawoona when it’s a green straight but a red right turn arrow. The only reason the lights is in that configuration is for pedestrians crossing Ginninderra drive on the east side of the intersection.
It will be better when Lawson is up or they build a path between Allawoona and Aikman on the south side of Ginninderra Drive.

Was trying to work out what you were talking about so opened up google maps. The zoomed out image shows the pre-lights configuration, but the zoomed in one shows EXACTLY what you are talking about, including a red ute turning right from the left lane. Obviously it isn’t right, but I can see why some may think that it is ok. Personally until Lawson is connected they should probably allow it, there are plenty of T intersections where it is allowed.

HenryBG said :

Northbourne Avenue. Heading North, usually, every single light changes to red as I approach it.

Easily explained. You’re not doing the posted limit from 10+ years ago of 70kmph. The one they timed the lights with and never fixed. Are traffic engineers in the ACT incompetent, lazy, or they just stopped hiring them sometime in the early 00’s?

The ones outside bloody Bunnings in Belconnen. They just put them in and turned them on. No timing with the lights before or after. They constantly kill what should be a green run up Belconnen Way.

I’ve noticed that the new lights at Eggleston Cres/Melrose Drv Chifley have suddenly become very slow over the past week or so. They seem to have been rephased because when they were installed a few months back they were in sync with the Botany St lights directly in front (travelling north). Now it is quite common for the Eggleston lights to be red whilst the Botany St lights are green creating a potentially dangerous and confusing situation.

I once, with witnesses came onto Northbourne Ave from the Federal Highway and got to the Kent St exit at Deakin on Adelaide Ave, without any red lights and not breaking any road rules. It helped being 3:00 am I guess

The lights of Allawoona and Ginninderra drive but only because it’s a 3 way intersection and there are idiots who turn right from the straight lane out of Allawoona when it’s a green straight but a red right turn arrow. The only reason the lights is in that configuration is for pedestrians crossing Ginninderra drive on the east side of the intersection.
It will be better when Lawson is up or they build a path between Allawoona and Aikman on the south side of Ginninderra Drive.

Worst lights in Canberra? None, its the ones in Sydney or Melbourne. After being in those cities Canberra doesn’t look so bad.
I ride through those lights on Wattle street. With nothing around they change as soon as I hit the button. Don’t know why Leon gets a delay. All I know is people here feel to important to have to wait a bit. Can’t have it all your own way.

Cooyong St / Mort St lights in Braddon. On more than one occasion I have sat at these lights (both streets) and been there for longer than 5 minutes waiting. The best one was at 9:30 pm on Mort St and was there for 7 minutes. When I got the junction there were no cars waiting in any direction, but once they finally changed the intersection was choked.

quostatus said :

Ginninderra Drive heading East in the morning seems to have no priority. You hit a red – usually from one car – at Aikman, Allawoona and Braybrooke. You expect a red at the Haydon Drive intersection but the others are just frustrating and annoying.

How early in the morning are you talking? I drive the whole length of Ginninderra Drive on my way to work, leaving Dunlop around 730 and I normally get two reds on the whole length. One usually Haydon and the other either Braybrooke, the Uni/Lawson or Gungahlin Drive. Though as these are new lights I have a feeling they were not integrated with the others which might surprise some are actually integrated.

If before around 6:30 or 7am, then yeah one car at any intersection will more or less immediately trigger a change for them.

I won’t travel to the city on Gininderra drive outside of peak hour though when the lights are more demand responsive, but in the mornings I find it is the best way to get to the City or to Gungahlin Drive.

Any of the T intersections with traffic lights that stop traffic in both directions on the main road for traffic turning on from the side road. Why not allow the lanes opposite the side road to bypass the lights? There are a few instances where they have done that such as the Ginninderra/Coulter drive intersection where it works great. Imagine how much time, fuel, road and car maintenance, and road rage it saves over a few decades.

State Circle / Melbourne Ave lights. As soon as one car has to stop on Melbourne Ave, the lights change to stop traffic on State Circle. I assume it’s because they’re trying to give priority to the important people on the hill but it’s crazy how much traffic gets disrupted on State Circle for the privilege.

Also, if turning right off State Circle onto Canberra Ave in the morning, it’s guaranteed that the National Circuit / Canberra Ave set will be changing to red along Canberra Ave just as the first car approaches, having been green to no traffic for a while before that.

Smart lights are the way to go. Would be a much better way to spend a billion than a on a tram.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1110364/smart-traffic-lights-could-cut-your-commute/

My gripe is with every single traffic light on roads with 80km/h limit. Unless you put the pedal down at the first green and do 90km/h, you will not get a run of greens turning amber but instead stop at every intersection. I don’t know if this is a ploy to encourage speeding for more revenue raising but it HAS to be by design and not just an accident.
That being said, for specifics I can name the Brisbane Avenue and National Circuit lights heading towards the lake. It will be green forever and turn red just before you get there to allow invisible cars to pass before your eyes.

Lady Denman Drive to the arboretum intersection. These were installed as a temporary measure during GDE construction and have never been removed.

Ginninderra Drive heading East in the morning seems to have no priority. You hit a red – usually from one car – at Aikman, Allawoona and Braybrooke. You expect a red at the Haydon Drive intersection but the others are just frustrating and annoying.

Bottom of Anzac Parade. The timing is off. Instead of waiting for three seconds from the “turn left green” arrow until the “go straight ahead” green light, it’s about six seconds.

BenjaminRose1991 said :

1. The intersection of Kingsford Smith drive and Ginninderra Drive approaching from the east. Lights randomly go red when there are no cars waiting at or approaching the intersection from other directions. Noticed after usually after 7pm. Hypersensitive induction sensors?
.

Nope, no faulty sensor, just normal behaviour.

All traffic lights have a default direction. Basically if they receive no traffic for a period of time they will revert to this direction. On the ones you mention the default direction is east (city bound) along Gininderra Drive. They also have to change in set sequence sequence. They can miss a sequence, but if a vehicle arrives at the missed sequence whilst a later sequence has green lights it will return to default sequence before the missed sequence can get a green.

For example on the lights you mention, lets say it is 11pm and the lights are on the default sequence no vehicles around. Then a car then arrives on Kingsford Smith wanting to go straight, then say 5 seconds later a car comes from the opposite direction wanting to turn. What will happen is the car going straight will tell the lights it wants to go straight, the lights will pretty quickly give the default sequence an amber followed by red. Now even though the turning car has arrived before the straight direction gets the green the lights would have already decided who goes next, so straight gets green. The lights then return to default, for about 10 second of green then service the turning car.

If however the turning car arrived first followed by the straight heading car the turning car would get green first, followed by straight before returning to default.

Oh PS like many here I do wish that after certain hours intersections like this one would not present turning lights, would make things so much better.

As mentioned this example is when traffic is light, eg between 7pm and around 6.30am. Between 6.30 and 7pm, each direction gets a longer run through the lights and generally traffic comes from all directions meaning the lights generally just follow a fixed sequence.

The traffic lights at Dickson Pl and Cowper St, as well as the ones coming off Kuringa Dr onto the Barton Highway drive me nuts. If you miss the green light, you can be waiting up to 5 minutes at them.

1. The intersection of Kingsford Smith drive and Ginninderra Drive approaching from the east. Lights randomly go red when there are no cars waiting at or approaching the intersection from other directions. Noticed after usually after 7pm. Hypersensitive induction sensors?

2. The intersection of Gungahlin drive and Sandford street. Heading both north and south.

Inappropriate intersection design.

It along with the Gungahlin Drive-Wells Station drive intersection should be ‘bypassed’ for the northbound lanes like Belconnen way westbound lanes bypasses the intersection at Haydon drive. (I would extend this to the southbound lanes on Gungahlin drive with its intersection with Kosciuszko avenue.

A digression I know. Sorry.

Who ever designed the intersection of Barrier St/Newcastle St/Tennant St deserves special mention if not a special place in hell.

There are two sets that regularly taunt me – and only ever in the mornings. And the sad part is that I know exactly what confirmation bias is …

1. Drakeford Drive and Soward Way intersection, northbound. I cannot remember the last time I had a clean run through that intersection in the morning.
2. Drakeford Drive northbound, turning right onto Athllon Drive. The lights in the morning rarely stay green for long enough to clear the slip lane of all turning traffic and often leaves cars stuck in no-mans land trying to get into the slip lane. The cops would have a field day catching two or three cars at a time trying to run the orange/red gauntlet on every cycle, rather than waiting 2-3 minutes for the lights to cycle through again.

I’m not claiming they’re the worst in Canberra, but I have a special hatred for the Captain Cook/Stuart St lights. Spiteful lights. May they melt in hell.

Northbourne Avenue. Heading North, usually, every single light changes to red as I approach it.

Mine would be Coulter Drive generally – near impossible to get a straight run through there. Yes, it intersects with two other major drives – but always seems to be the minor sets, at Nettlefold and at Joynton Smith, that get you.

However ‘bad’ traffic signals are for drivers, the pedestrian signals are almost always worse.

Drivers on Northbourne Avenue may have to wait almost two minutes for a right turn signal.
Pedestrians making an equivalent diagonal turn can wait 30 seconds for a first green signal, wait another 90 seconds after the signal goes red while they are crossing the median, and then wait again for a green signal that allows them to complete their turn.

At mid-block crossings (e.g. Wattle Street), the pedestrian signals have a extra built-in delay between when the pedestrian button is pushed and when the vehicle signals commence to change – even if it’s been ten minutes since the last car came along.

The pedestrian crossing across Barry Drive at Marcus Clarke St doesn’t allow enough time for pedestrians to complete their crossing. So they are legally required to wait for the next cycle.

The pedestrian crossing across Barry Drive at Kingsley St has a special 7 second delay, to give priority to taxis or motorcycles that illegally proceed forward from the right-turning bus lane.

Many pedestrians, out of courtesy for drivers, cross against red signals without pressing the pedestrian button. Their other option is to press the button, wait for the the road to clear, and continue waiting until more cars arrive in time to be delayed when the pedestrian signal finally goes green.