Traffic Lights say: GO!



  • Traffic Peculiarity.



    On my route to work, I come by a T-crossing. Along the top of that T,
    the lane going from right to left, there is traffic light for a bicycle
    lane that goes straight ahead. It always shows green, and the red and
    orange lights probably haven't lit up for two decades. If it were to
    show red at one point, it would mean that you are not allowed to ride
    straight on on a lane without left or right turns.



    My theory is that this light is leftover from an earlier time when that
    particular crossing didn't have a separate lane and light for
    left-turning bicycles. But now that there is, the old light is
    permanently green.



  • ..........................



  • @AlpineR said:

    What would happen if there weren't a green light for the bike lane? I think then the bikes would obey the light for the car lane, which is sometimes red to let cars enter from the road that ends at the T. But those cars don't impact the bikes (hopefully), so they need a green light to explicity tell them they're exempt from the cars' red light. It was probably cheaper to install a 3-color light set permanently to green rather than order a special green-only light.

    You're presuming that bikers obey traffic laws. In my experience a majority just wing it and damn the traffic (including myself).



  • @AlpineR said:

    What would happen if there weren't a green light
    for the bike lane? I think then the bikes would obey the light for the
    car lane, which is sometimes red to let cars enter from the road that
    ends at the T. But those cars don't impact the bikes (hopefully), so
    they need a green light to explicity tell them they're exempt from the
    cars' red light. It was probably cheaper to install a 3-color light set
    permanently to green rather than order a special green-only
    light.




    Good point. I hadn't thought of that.



    But I think most bikers, wingers by natures, would completely ignore the car light if they see no interference from car lanes.


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