Q. Elaine, a student driver writes; my mom says you know how to get things fixed on a road so I think you should know about someone putting cement curves in the lanes on Lucy Street near Cobb Middle school. They cannot be seen at night and people are running into them with their cars. Can you help?
A. First, thank you, Elaine, for understanding your civic responsibility by bringing a very important message to the attention of Street Scene and in-so-doing, to the people responsible for the safety of Tallahassee citizens. When anyone, especially a young driver, sees a problem on our roadways and makes the effort to do something about it, you are serving your community in an extraordinarily valuable way.
Mark Hinson:A traffic guide to the misguided motorists who terrorize Tallahassee | Mark Hinson
Crashes:Two killed after wrong-way collision on I-10; Tallahassee firefighter killed in separate wreck
Road work:Bumpy problem and overdue crosswalk await action in Jefferson County | Street Scene
Secondly, Street Scene can help by virtue of this newspaper passing your valid concern on to the people responsible for keeping us safe on our local streets and roads. In this case it’s those in charge of traffic safety at the City of Tallahassee.
What you refer to is an attempt at traffic calming in a most radical manner. Municipalities everywhere tend to do things that on the drawing board look like a good idea. And when first implemented it seems to be achieving the planned result which is to slow the speed of drivers navigating a particular road or street.
The problems arise with time. The time it takes for nighttime delineation to be destroyed by errant vehicles wiping them out thereby putting our lack of maintenance on full display along with our credibility of caring for the safety of our motoring public.
Tallahassee has a large transient population made up primarily of college students and parents occasionally visiting those students and most certainly everyone crowding our streets on their way to and from our sports arenas. Street Scene has a plethora of complaints addressing this very problem, physical obstacles and obstructions placed on our streets.
Some refer to these appendages as intentional booby traps. One kind lady visiting her college student informed Street Scene she warns her friends, also with students in Tallahassee, about the poor forethought given street design in Tallahassee.
Thanks again, Elaine, continue to be safe as you navigate the realm of freedom and responsibility your driving privilege bestows upon you and please continue your courage to bring forth all traffic safety discrepancies you encounter. I sincerely hope we hear from you again.
Confusion over flashing yellow arrows
Q. Read any newspaper in the country and you will find it’s become increasingly obvious the flashing yellow arrow traffic signal is not well understood by many holding a driver license, not only in Florida but other states as well. The universal statement to police; ‘I stop on a yellow light so why wouldn’t I stop on a yellow arrow’. ‘Besides I don’t have to go through any yellow caution light if I don’t think it’s safe’.
A. Of course, what follows is frustration on the part of vehicle operators who know how to drive, deciding to pull around the stopped car by moving into the adjacent through-lane sometimes getting sideswiped by a passing vehicle. Also reports of increasing frequency of rear-end collisions.
Education is the only solution. Most states try to follow standard best practices involving transportation safety with such language we find in the Official Florida Driver License Handbook – revision 5-22-20 which reads as follows: Yellow Arrow (Flashing)
- Turns are allowed in the direction of the arrow.
- The oncoming traffic has a green light.
- Yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
The operative word here is allowed.
Turn arrow timing
Q. Patricia asks if the south to east left turn arrow at Capital Circle NE and Raymond Diehl Road could be activated without requiring a vehicle to be queued-up in the left turn storage lane.
A. I read Pat’s message this way: When southbound traffic on Capital Circle NE facing a red light at the north to west entrance ramp to I-10, Pat and others wanting to turn left at Raymond Diehl Road must stop again because the left turn arrow is red forcing us to wait for a complete signal cycle to get the eastbound green arrow. This after waiting forever at the previous intersection.
Pat I don’t think we want to start having traffic lights activated when there is no traffic demand. Especially after we have spent billions of dollars and many years designing and achieving a computerized traffic signal system which responds to actual traffic flow demands. I understand what you would like to see, however what looks and is quite doable is contrary to reliable and safe electronic assignments of traffic movements.
So the answer to your question is technically, yes. The electronic wizardry available would allow us to do it. It would require traffic detection equipment be installed at the southbound stop bar at the northbound to westbound I-10 on-ramp tied into the computer equipment in the signal control cabinet at Raymond Diehl Road making the computer think there was a southbound car at Raymond Diehl waiting to turn left.
However as you picture yourself and the other thousands of vehicles saturating the northbound through lanes on Capital Circle not getting a green light when there is no visible opposing traffic turning left onto Raymond Diehl you will also be able to visualize the furious telephone calls to the city manager, mayor, commissioners, and this newspaper.
Let’s continue to operate our traffic signal system with the benefit of the common good.
More traffic signal issues
Q 1. Phill has two traffic signal concerns: Sometimes at Centerville Road and Welaunee when all traffic has a red light the yellow turn yield light is flashing giving the impression it is OK to make a left turn on a full red light. Thanks for getting this in the right hands.
A. Thanks Phill, your valid concern is in the right hands and by the time you read today’s Street Scene any necessary adjustments may have been figured out and made. Please keep me informed.
Q 2. Phill also reports when the green left turn arrow for eastbound Mahan Drive to northbound Dempsey Mayo Road is activated the eastbound through signals intermittently go to red then back to green. Pat says the eastbound through signals should stay green throughout the signal cycling to the east to north green arrow.
A. You are absolutely correct, Phill, after reading today’s Street Scene our traffic engineers will be out there to check and correct this anomaly.
Philip Stuart is a retired Florida State Trooper, Traffic Operations Projects Engineer and Forensics Expert Witness. Write to crashsites@embarqmail.com.
Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.