Some motorcycles are not easily detected, Scholes says. The more mass a vehicle has, the easier it is for the system to detect it. That current flow tells the controller there is a vehicle waiting at the light.” As a vehicle crosses those loops, it induces an electro-magnetic current flow in the loop. “There are several turns of wire wrapped around a loop. How does the traffic detection system work?Ī standard detection system, according to Fugal, is a Loop Detection system underneath the pavement. “If there are vehicles that are waiting to make a movement, our detection system picks up those vehicles,” Fugal says. We try to keep (traffic) moving as much as possible.” “If you let people sit very long, they get antsy. Most of our intersections are less than that, around 90 seconds, on average,” says Bruce Scholes, the city’s Generation and Signalization Foreman. “At an intersection like Hitt and 17th, for example, (a cycle length) could be as much as three minutes. The amount of time it takes a light to change from green to yellow to red and back to green is called a cycle length. “We don’t just say ‘the left turn signal will be on for 12 seconds.’ There’s a minimum time and a maximum time for each signal,” Fugal says. The timing for each signal at each intersection varies based on traffic demand at different times of day.
Kent Fugal, the city engineer for Idaho Falls, says every intersection with a traffic signal has a set of programmed timing plans. I also spoke with the city to learn how traffic signals, in general, work. The exact date and time are still being determined.Į will post more information when it is available. Karen Hiatt, ITD’s Engineering Manager says they will be holding a public meeting at Skyline High School in early September to discuss the results of the study and hear proposed solutions. ITD’s website indicates a study is currently underway to identify and analyze corridor improvements at six different interchanges in Bonneville County. The state is trying to find a solution to the traffic bottleneck issue and rework the interchange network so that it is safer for everyone. It it doesn’t, traffic will back up on the highway and you’ll have people driving 70 mph into the back end of traffic.”ĭavison said safety is the number one concern at this interchange. “The (on-ramp for exit 119) has priority. “If there’s a delay on Grandview, that’s a lot safer than having traffic backed up on the highway,” ITD Engineer Matt Davison told me. I reached out to the Idaho Transportation Department for a response to this email. Anyone who has driven through this intersection knows exactly what she is talking about. “Maybe it is time we revamp this interchange and (improve) the flow of traffic.”Īndrea is not the only person who feels this way. But traffic on Grandview backs up almost to the Skyline light.”
If the eastbound light is adjusted, it makes traffic on I-15 back up which is a safety issue. As things stand right now, it is a no win situation. Then our red light lasted one minute and three seconds. The (green) light for eastbound traffic lasted 19.6 seconds.