That was a very timely, excellent commentary by Dave Hardin in the Sept. 26 edition regarding his case for smart traffic lights; dynamic traffic (light) control is long overdue. One of the most egregious examples is the Church Street/Rehoboth Avenue traffic signal. Regardless of time or time of the year, you can sit at the Church Street light burning fuel for two minutes (I have timed it); not a car in sight, nor a policeman around! The same goes for the Route 1 lights. In Tampa, Fla., they have smart signals at many intersections, including at major highways/roadways, that monitor flow of traffic very precisely to the point where you may wait only 10 to 15 seconds and the lights change accordingly.
Only one additional suggestion for downtown Rehoboth Beach intersections: Chicago in the 1970s used to have all the lights red for 30 to 45 seconds where pedestrians could walk the entire intersection. Then they were given a 15-second clearing time. When the lights turn green (for automobile traffic), there was no crossing in any direction. This cleaned up the box-blocking issue overnight.
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