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City aims to time traffic lights photo by Jim Craven It�d be easier on drivers, city engineers and air By Jessica Smith Count Robert Black among the Medford drivers who�ve always wondered when the city would get around to timing its traffic signals. "It looks to me like somebody just turned the things on and left them at whatever time they were set," said Black, a science teacher at North Medford High School. "I think it can be done better." So does Cory Crebbin, the city�s public works director. "There are all kinds of things we could do to make the existing system work better and we wouldn�t have to build any roads," Crebbin said. At the top of Crebbin�s list of fixes is hiring an engineer to analyze traffic patterns and determine the best timing and placement for signals. Computers control the city�s stoplights, but the public works department has struggled to get the most out of Medford�s automated signal network. Ill-timed stoplights have nagged city drivers and city engineers alike. Medford traffic experts have tinkered with the system and even hired consultants, but have yet to solve the problem. Coordinating the city�s signals is a big job, Crebbin said, and one that will take time. But city leaders recognize the benefits of well-timed signals: a more efficient transportation system and fewer frustrated drivers. Black rarely drives in the "rush hour" � he lives two blocks from the high school � but he says he�s just as irritated as commuters by the stop-and-go traffic he sees at Medford�s busiest intersections. Drivers constantly are met by red lights on the city�s main drags, whether they drive the speed limit or not, Black said. "When I drive around, people don�t seem to be as relaxed as they could be," he added. "I think people would be happier in their cars if they weren�t just sitting there, revving up at a red light." Cutting the amount of time cars are stopped at red lights also would reduce air pollution, city engineers point out. In Medford, synchronizing signals is difficult, Crebbin said. The streets vary in length, intersections connect at different angles and pedestrian crossings are not uniform. Traffic volumes change throughout the day and at various times of the year, such as when children head back to school, further complicating the situation. That�s why it�s important the city have someone to work full-time on signal and intersection analysis, Crebbin said. The council authorized the money to hire an engineer to do the work later this year. "To do a good signal plan, you need local knowledge. You need to have an idea of where traffic is going and where it�s coming from," he said. "That�s why traffic engineering is really an art more than a science." Three years ago, the city hired a Portland consultant to improve signal timing along three major corridors. But the $94,000 plan created more problems than it solved and the city reinstated the original timing sequences, Crebbin said. "People think it�s real easy" to time the signals, he added. "But it�s not. And the last thing we want is to make changes and have the law of unintended consequences kick in." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA