Does it make sense to press the crossing button for cyclists or pedestrians? | Mobility

“Something happens when you press the button for pedestrians or cyclists at a traffic light,” Kikins explains. “Once you press this button, a signal is sent to the traffic controller, which is a computer. It weighs which traffic lights should turn green and which should stay red for a period of time.

“When considering who should get the green light, the traffic controller takes into account information about traffic flow on all branches of the intersection. He receives this information via other buttons on other traffic lights, rings on the road surface, radar detectors, and X-ray cameras.” “Infrared. This gives us a complete idea of ​​how crowded the intersection is at the present time.”

“In general, the less other traffic the system detects, the less time you have to wait. If the road is less busy on one of the other branches of the intersection, you will get green sooner. Does the system not detect other road users at all? Then cyclists or pedestrians will get the green light faster.

“We want to keep red time as short as possible for everyone,” Kikins emphasizes. “Also for waiting cyclists and pedestrians. At the same time, we want to avoid excessive traffic jams of motorized traffic. This is polluting and can be quite dangerous when the intersections behind become blocked by waiting traffic.

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Public transportation is often given priority. “There are separate rings on the road surface for buses and trams, up to 400 meters before the intersection. If they succeed, they turn green as quickly as possible by ending the green time for other traffic early. They then remain green for the bus or tram until You reach the intersection and cross it.

Contrary to what you might think: “There are already maximum waiting times for pedestrians and cyclists that do not exceed traffic lights. These waiting times are shorter in built-up areas than outside them, because it should be more attractive to ride a bike or walk inside built-up areas.

“If we set the basic rules for traffic lights without taking into account buses and trams, we will make pedestrians and cyclists wait a maximum of 70 seconds in the core area of ​​the built-up area. Outside the built-up areas, the waiting time can be up to 110 seconds. On bicycle highways inside the built-up areas, we aim to Ensure that the waiting time does not exceed 45 seconds, and 60 seconds outside built-up areas.

So you should be as patient as possible next time you wait.

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