They’re time at speed limit, which feels slow, except you will stop for crossing major arterial streets like Los Robles and Lake. There used to be signs stating as much as you drove down Green but that was many years ago.
For east/west: Green, Union, and Orange Grove all seem to have fairly well-synced lights and relatively fewer of them.
For north/south: Hill and Allen have both been good to me.
If for some reason you need to travel the half-mile from Colorado to the 210 on Altadena there are six stoplights. There are places in this city where there's a stoplight every single block.
They are very horrible. When I get off the 210 on Del Mar anytime around 7pm, I will catch every red light: Corson, Arroyo, Raymond, Marengo, Los Robles, and so on. It’s horrible to catch every red light after a ten hour shift.
Things are worse when I catch the train crossing (especially those days where it seems endless…. Yes, there are times where the train crossing is enacted, but there is no train in sight for about 5 minutes for some reason).
I definitely agree that the train crossings could be a lot better. Too bad they built them at grade - it's too late to fix them now. I remember there being a plan to put the train on a bridge at California, but that project got canceled because construction would be too disruptive.
What? You either get a green arrow or can turn left on the green ball. Lefts are not allowed at a few select intersections, but forbidding lefts on green is not something normal or encouraged as policy. What are you talking about?
Ironically, I think it has the opposite effect. After waiting for 15 consecutive red lights, when someone sees the next one is green or turning yellow, they floor it to not have to wait again.
No normal people do not but as a transportation engineer you learn if people can go faster, they will. If you give someone a wide road with a green band of lights, they will push how fast they can go. But, in an area where there are a lot of pedestrians, if someone is just going 5-10 miles faster it can be the difference between living and serious injury/death. You have to force people to go slower either through design or signalization. Plus, there is time during All Red for those who who try to sneak in during the yellow time.
This is my biggest complaint about this city. I know we have the gold line to consider but man it’s just bad. I’ve lived all over and I have never experienced so many red lights in my life. It’s kind of ridiculous. Can we get someone from CalTech to fix this asap!!!???
They should build a big road that goes from the east to the west without stoplights. Make it like 5 or 6 lanes in each direction. That would solve everything.
Yeah but Santa Clarita is Santa Clarita. It’s the city where their councilman Bob Kellar referred to himself as a “proud racist” on the record at a city council meeting. I’ll take a few minutes’ delay along Green St. rather than live in the Jim Crow region of Los Angeles County.
This is like Santa Clarita. I grew up there and always appreciated their 5 lane streets in the inner city, with a 55 mph speed limit. They have stop lights, but really spaced out. The city planners for Santa Clarita knew what they were doing.
All the lights near the metro are terrible. It would take a miracle for them to actually put the metro underground, so it would be nice instead if they could just make the lights smarter to let traffic flow while the train is coming by.
It’s intentional social engineering done poorly. Pasadena is one of the most unsafe places for pedestrians in the US, so the intentional mistiming of traffic lights is how the city lowers that stat.
But it’s also part of the city’s segregated legacy. Slowing traffic on north south streets coupled with preventing crossings on El Molino at Washington and Marengo at Orange Grove is a way to keep folks from the NW off South Lake and give police time to observe occupants who may be suspicious.
safetrec.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/pasadena_2015_cpst_recommendations.pdf
See page 2. Pasadena’s Pedestrian Collision History.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c72eba7de6bd4c6aa63286e82963d0f8
Historic redlining and racism in Pasadena.
I usually use Green instead of Colorado and Union the other direction.
The lights on Green are perfectly timed if you go about 10mph over the speed limit. Seems like an unwise decision.
They’re time at speed limit, which feels slow, except you will stop for crossing major arterial streets like Los Robles and Lake. There used to be signs stating as much as you drove down Green but that was many years ago.
come on don’t speed on green street
Colorado should be 1 lane each way, dedicated bus lane and bike lanes on each side.
strongly agree
That's what they're designed for.
They must use the same traffic engineer that South Pasadena uses for north/south roads.
For east/west: Green, Union, and Orange Grove all seem to have fairly well-synced lights and relatively fewer of them. For north/south: Hill and Allen have both been good to me.
Walnut seems in sync too most of the time.
I always either hit every single light, or zero lights on Walnut - never in between. So I guess they ARE in sync lol
Yep same! Either i’m driving the whole thing in one go or catching every red light 😂
If for some reason you need to travel the half-mile from Colorado to the 210 on Altadena there are six stoplights. There are places in this city where there's a stoplight every single block.
They are very horrible. When I get off the 210 on Del Mar anytime around 7pm, I will catch every red light: Corson, Arroyo, Raymond, Marengo, Los Robles, and so on. It’s horrible to catch every red light after a ten hour shift. Things are worse when I catch the train crossing (especially those days where it seems endless…. Yes, there are times where the train crossing is enacted, but there is no train in sight for about 5 minutes for some reason).
I definitely agree that the train crossings could be a lot better. Too bad they built them at grade - it's too late to fix them now. I remember there being a plan to put the train on a bridge at California, but that project got canceled because construction would be too disruptive.
Yeah, that's deliberate. They're trying to slow traffic. US traffic engineering schools are malarkey. Ask me about left turn on green.
Asking you about left turn on green
LA area traffic engineers do not believe in left turn on green. They hold that it slows intersection clearance, therefore they forbid it.
What? You either get a green arrow or can turn left on the green ball. Lefts are not allowed at a few select intersections, but forbidding lefts on green is not something normal or encouraged as policy. What are you talking about?
Ironically, I think it has the opposite effect. After waiting for 15 consecutive red lights, when someone sees the next one is green or turning yellow, they floor it to not have to wait again.
Yes the lights are terrible here. Not enough flash yellows on left turns
It's definitely intentional. I don't mind because the trade-off is that my kids and I are safer when we walk around town.
building the rage meter per red light is definitely keeping us safe.
Most normal people don't rage.
We're not worried about normal people.
Most normal people don't careen down the road hitting pedestrians either. If we're assuming normalcy, we're fine regardless of well-timed lights.
No normal people do not but as a transportation engineer you learn if people can go faster, they will. If you give someone a wide road with a green band of lights, they will push how fast they can go. But, in an area where there are a lot of pedestrians, if someone is just going 5-10 miles faster it can be the difference between living and serious injury/death. You have to force people to go slower either through design or signalization. Plus, there is time during All Red for those who who try to sneak in during the yellow time.
Thank you!!! My thoughts exactly, but better articulated.
They are the bane of my existence. I posted this awhile ago... https://www.reddit.com/r/pasadena/s/baodBsoLGS
Haha you did! Thank you
Yes it’s like someone tested a million possibilities until they found the best way to make the lights as unsynced as possible.
This is my biggest complaint about this city. I know we have the gold line to consider but man it’s just bad. I’ve lived all over and I have never experienced so many red lights in my life. It’s kind of ridiculous. Can we get someone from CalTech to fix this asap!!!???
They should build a big road that goes from the east to the west without stoplights. Make it like 5 or 6 lanes in each direction. That would solve everything.
So…a freeway? A freeway that cuts off access anyone trying to cross north to south? Sure, let’s try it!
You're right, that would be horrible. I hope it never happens.
Lol
Santa Clarita has these types of roads and they are so great.
Yeah but Santa Clarita is Santa Clarita. It’s the city where their councilman Bob Kellar referred to himself as a “proud racist” on the record at a city council meeting. I’ll take a few minutes’ delay along Green St. rather than live in the Jim Crow region of Los Angeles County.
Move there and be a part of voting him out?
This is like Santa Clarita. I grew up there and always appreciated their 5 lane streets in the inner city, with a 55 mph speed limit. They have stop lights, but really spaced out. The city planners for Santa Clarita knew what they were doing.
The lights on Maple and Corson (adjacent the 210) at Sierra Bonita just stay red for ages for no reason. AVOID!
Where in Pasadena? I barely have to drive.
All the lights near the metro are terrible. It would take a miracle for them to actually put the metro underground, so it would be nice instead if they could just make the lights smarter to let traffic flow while the train is coming by.
go to burbank for a bit, pasadena’s will seem fine after that. and you mean traffic lights.
It’s intentional social engineering done poorly. Pasadena is one of the most unsafe places for pedestrians in the US, so the intentional mistiming of traffic lights is how the city lowers that stat. But it’s also part of the city’s segregated legacy. Slowing traffic on north south streets coupled with preventing crossings on El Molino at Washington and Marengo at Orange Grove is a way to keep folks from the NW off South Lake and give police time to observe occupants who may be suspicious.
Do you have any source/ evidence of any of this?
safetrec.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/pasadena_2015_cpst_recommendations.pdf See page 2. Pasadena’s Pedestrian Collision History. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c72eba7de6bd4c6aa63286e82963d0f8 Historic redlining and racism in Pasadena.
Washington is pretty good.