Story & Photos by Joseph Boyle
During the past several months I have been witness to a significant number of complaints regarding a new and improved traffic light system at Bridgeport Way SW and Gravelly Lake Dr SW.
When approaching the intersection moving Southbound on Bridgeport crossing Gravelly Lake Dr SW there are two through lane traffic lights, one left turn arrow light and one right turn arrow light. When the lights are red, there is no problem as everyone stops. When the green lights activate for the through lanes, the right turn lane arrow stays red instead of changing to green as you might expect.
In this case, the red arrow does not make sense. The red arrow has frustrated many drivers.
Well, I have been in the frustrated driver group and just the other day I was hanging out at my home away from home, Main Street Starbucks, when I ran into a couple of credible and knowledgeable City of Lakewood employees.
I asked, “What’s up with the red / green arrow on Bridgeport and Gravelly?
Their answer was both enlightening and encouraging.
#1. There is a design issue or problem that they are trying to develop a solution for. While normally the red arrow would be set to change to green when the through lanes turn green, the red arrow is purposefully delayed to remain red while they find a solution to the design problem.
The encouraging word is that once the problem is rectified, the right turn arrow will normally turn green when the through lane ball lights turn green.
#2. The exception to having the right turn arrow turn green simultaneously with the through lane green balls occurs when a pedestrian mashes the crosswalk button in order to cross Gravelly Lake Dr SW. The red arrow will stay red to avoid having the car turning right, run down the pedestrian.
Check out my photo. Do you see the pedestrian? The red arrow makes sense for pedestrian safety.
Well, there you have it. Keep your eyes on the new traffic lights for improvements and more importantly, keep your eyes open for pedestrians.
Our City of Lakewood Engineers are great and intelligent people. So, let’s be patient and have confidence. Our intersection will get better, one day soon.
The solution has always been easy. The red arrow is just like any red light at an intersection. You may make a right turn after coming to a complete stop, then turning into the lane that is free of traffic and pedestrians.
I, too, have sat behind someone who sat at that red arrow while there was no crossing traffic and there was no pedestrian crossing. It’s best to just be patient. The short wait isn’t worth making “a big deal” of it.
I am glad they have a plan. Now if we could only get the lights “timed” the whole length of Bridgeport!
from UP to Lakewood I have talked to many folks who are planning on moving their shopping to other areas because of the traffic the stop lights create. This is certainly pour business! Not good in these times!
This once again proves that Lakewood is the unsynchronized light capital of the known world.
I asked if it was OK to turn right on the red arrow – that question showed up in the Suburban Times some weeks ago. Ben did the research and the answer is yes – if there are no pedestrians or other reasons for staying put and no sign that says “no right turn on red,” you can turn even when the arrow is red. Clearly there is some confusion about this intersection and it would be helpful to everyone using it to have widespread clarification.
And while they are at it, they should consider striping (with dash lines) through the intersection. For cars traveling on Bridgeport, the intersection becomes a curve, and without the lines, vehicles have trouble staying in lane. I have witnessed several occasions when drivers where forced to take evasive action or lean on their horns because another driver did not maintain his/her position in lane through the intersection.
Thanks for the clarification. I just waited until the light in the right lane turned green. Fortunately, no one came up behind me and honked.
I have witnessed this situation several times, but in each case there has been no pedestrian in the crosswalk yet the arrow has stayed red for, as I recall, a count of 15 seconds or so. I hope they get it fixed promptly because the drivers behind the lead car can get pretty impatient. Thanks for the clarification.
How about the light at 100th and Gravelly? I go through it at 4am but I have to sit through at least 2-3 cycles before the light changes to green and there is nobody on the road! Most days I just run it 🙂
After fixing those,perhaps they could fix Gravely Lake Dr @ I5, the backup is a huge mess…Also the Bridgeport intersection @ I5 is also prone to a backup of traffic…Perhaps the designers could drive these areas at lunchhour and inspect the ideas….