Traffic Lights everywhere

[Dinamo]

My comute into london has 42 sets of lights, within 9.5 miles.. 

Which is nearly 4.5 sets per mile,  but that doesn't count the 5 zebra crossings.

and some days I can get stopped at nearly all of them..

If you got stopped at all of them, would you be late for work ?

[clarion]

Yes, I would.  I was stopped at a lot of them today

As it happens, it means that the RLJers make good progress.  I passed one suicidal lass at least eight times between Elephant & Castle & Clapham last night. 

[rower40]

10 sets in 3.5 miles.  Of these, there are two sets that are NEVER red - at 7am when I commute.  One other set relies on a detector to operate them, so the procedure is dismount, lay bike down flat on detector, remount, check light is now green, set off.  It's the one place where a "Cyclists Dismount" sign would be appropriate.

But the last 1.5 miles is off-road segregated path, with no rules.  Or so it would appear, when watching the other users.

[dkahn400]

Anyone else do Slough in the morning?    About 20 sets of lights on the A4 though that miserable shit hole in the space of 5 miles, and every single one seems phased to stop all traffic as soon as it has started.   To paraphrase Betjeman: "dust off and nuke the site from orbit.   It's the only way to be sure".

I used to go that way. They are terrible. They also seem to be phased so that convoys of cars just get through, and cyclists get stopped at every one.

[Deano]

Curses.  I've jinxed myself with my "zero traffic lights" gloating.  My route now has a temporary set.

[Jezza]

At risk of encouraging the proliferation of temporary sets, the nearest traffic lights to me are about 14 miles away. 

[arry_b]

I only go through one set each way of my 10 mile round trip commute, but I could reduce that to zero if I took a mile detour each way.

So there's a supplementary question - what's the least number of lights you'd need to go through on your commute and how much further would you have to ride?

[Wascally Weasel]

Something like 35 on my commute but it's about 14 miles.  Quite a few are pedestrian crossings so often they aren't on red - I might try counting how often the signals require me to stop (from memory, I have about 5 minutes of non rolling time compared to riding time).

[TimO]

There are a variety of pedestrian crossings on my route, the odd few Zebra, and quite a few Pelicans and Puffins.  Norbury seems to be traffic light pedestrian crossing central.  Depending on the time of day, you seem to either progress about 50 foot at a time between red lights, or manage to shot through the entire lot in one go late at night, after the cafes, restaurants, and pubs have closed.

I reckon on adding about ten minutes to my fifty minute or so of cycling, just waiting at lights.

[rower40]

A short cut through Belper on today's Pie Run meant that we had to wait at a set of Temporary Traffic Lights protecting a half-shut roundabout, meaning that only one direction of traffic (out of 4) could use the roundabout at once.

There was a supermarket nearby, with a sign showing the petrol price.  We were at the lights so long that we could watch the fuel crisis in real time.

[clarion]

Just as an addition to this, now I'm more familiar with my route, I counted the times I had to put my foot down at lights.  I ignored the few times I had to slow down for lights that changed at the last minute, but only counted those I actually had to unclip & dab (OK, so maybe I should learn to trackstand, but it's hard not to look like a posy pillock when you try, I've noticed).

Seventeen.  Out of forty-four sets of lights.  I spent approximately five minutes of my ride stopped at red lights.  Not untypical, but perhaps a bit more than usual (I've never counted it before).

So that means that the average ride time in between them is approx 88s!

[Jacomus]

I go through a lot of light controlled junctions and crossings on my commute, 18 miles each way across London would do that, and I spend (according to Stan, my cycling computer) 8-11minutes stationary on my 1hr10min commute.

[clarion]

On my way home, fifteen TL stops out of forty-one.

Nearly three minutes delay.  Twenty-seven minutes moving.  Approx ave 1m40s moving each time...

[Ian H]

There's a set of traffic lights in the town where I work, Tiverton. Recently they've been supplemented by no fewer than two pedestrian lights. Honiton, the nearest town to my abode, also has just one light controlled junction, but boasts three pedestrian crossings with lights. I have to travel to Exeter for a multiple lights experience.

[Mr Larrington]

I had one particularly lucky day a couple of years ago when the difference between elapsed time and time spent moving was nine seconds, but there are long stretches¹ devoid of traffic lights.  You just need to get lucky at roundabouts.

1 - longest is 14.6 km

[clarion]

I have two roundabouts on my commute - both at Elephant & Castle, and one gyratory on the way in.

I have one Give Way junction on my way into work, and two on the way home.

Welcome to London

[TimO]

I have two "sort of" roundabouts on my commute, one at Thornton Heath and the other which is the gyratory/one-way system at Streatham.  The latter is pretty horrible when going North to South.  Both involve a number of traffic lights, which probably makes them slower and safer for cyclists.

[hellymedic]

There's a set of traffic lights in the town where I work, Tiverton. Recently they've been supplemented by no fewer than two pedestrian lights. Honiton, the nearest town to my abode, also has just one light controlled junction, but boasts three pedestrian crossings with lights. I have to travel to Exeter for a multiple lights experience.

Nah, visit E and enjoy the A4020 experience...

[drossall]

5.5 mile trip to work. No lights