Red Light Problem Facing B/CS Drivers

10PM UPDATE: Red Light Problem Facing B/CS Drivers

There are times when driving around B/CS can feel like you're driving in Houston or Austin. Heavier traffic is one of the growing pains the twin cities are facing, but even in big cities you don't catch Red light...after Red Light...After Red Light like you do here. It's something we and our viewers noticed as we drive the streets here every day. So we wanted to find out if it was just our imaginations or if this is really a problem. Through a random search we found Lori Thompson. If you think a stay at home mother of three doesn't know a thing or two about driving the roads then think again.

"They're at school, but my youngest only goes to school two days a week. I pick her up at 2:00, but I have to pick the others up at 2:50. I need to have time to get them somewhere so they can have an after school snack and get homework done before basketball. They have practice from 5:30-6:30 and I coach one of the teams. After that my oldest daughter has gymnastics that starts at 6:30,” said Lori Thompson.

It’s a very busy schedule, but Thompson says letting her kids participate in so many activities that they enjoy keeps them busy and out of trouble. Thompson agreed to let us ride along with her for an afternoon, so we could see if this red light problem is thing of our imaginations.

We caught several red lights in College Station, mostly when traffic became heavier in areas around University Dr. and Texas Avenue.

"It's irritating and I'm sure it makes everyone aggravated,” said Thompson.

When we drove down Texas Avenue, going the speed limit, we couldn't make it past more than 2 or 3 intersections without hitting another red light. The problems aren't just in College Station though; Bryan has its fair share too.

One of the worst areas in Bryan that we found was East 29th Street and East Villa Maria near Blinn College. In fact, East 29th Street all the way down was a problem. We caught five red lights out of eight signal lights at intersections along East 29th Street. We also caught red light after red light on Briarcrest Drive and Texas Avenue in Bryan.

If you're stuck in stop and go traffic, there’s no need to get mad at officials because they already know thanks to technology on your cell phone."

"As a blue tooth device passes past our radios it read it's address,” Said Kevin Balke with Texas Transportation Institute.

Balke says technology along the major intersections in B/CS tracks those anonymous Bluetooth addresses that your phone puts out and times how long it takes to go from intersection to intersection. This allows T.T.I. to monitor traffic flow and help both Bryan and College Station come up with better solutions to dealing with growing traffic.

So why can't College Station time the lights on Texas Avenue like you see in Austin or Houston?
Troy Rother, an engineer for the city says it’s because we have a different type of traffic flow.

"Because those cross roads have such a heavy volume on them, you'd be sitting on those for so long waiting to get on to Texas Avenue that we would get calls and complaints about the signal being broken,” said Rother.

Basically, if Texas Avenue were a one-way street it would be much simpler, but when traffic moves in all directions and side streets like Holleman Dr. and Southwest Pkwy are flooded with drivers wanting to turn onto Texas Ave. things get much more complicated. Rother says a lot of factors weigh in on how many traffic signals you may catch, from time of day, the speed you’re going and if an emergency vehicle has just passed through.

The city of Bryan recognizes there’s a problem at many of their intersections.

"We constantly have to maintain it. We lose our timing and lose our sequence,” said Dale Picha, Traffic Director for the city of Bryan. Picha says part of the problem is the traffic signals in Bryan are outdated, but he adds that's all about the change because a federal grant is lighting the way, for new signals that can be controlled through wireless technology that’s already in use by many other cities around Texas.

Picha says technicians will be able to monitor traffic signals and fix many problems from the city's signal shop, that currently require maintenance crews to go onsite. It will not only save the city time and money, but Picha believes it's going to help drivers too.

"You reduce those frustrations and you can reduce accidents because if people become impatient they can run a red light,” said Picha.

It sounds great, but the system Bryan is getting is similar to the system College Station already has. So will it really fix traffic problems or just cut down on maintenance?

"It is going to be hopefully a smarter system that certainly is not new to the industry but it is new to the city of Bryan. A technology that we need to get in place to help reduce delays for our motorists,” said Picha.

Picha says the city will begin installing the new lights in the coming months.

The bottom line is new technology may improve the situation, but it will never be perfect and population growth is only going to make the situation more complicated for both cities.

The areas where we noticed the most problems in Bryan: along Briarcrest Drive, Villa Maria, East 29th Street and Texas Avenue.

College Station: along Texas avenue, University Drive and Wellborn Road.

***Note this experiment was not scientific.