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Downtown traffic light has always been on a fixed timer Feb 03, 2003 12:00 AM A A Since you asked In recent years I have often driven through the Fourth and Bartlett streets intersection. If my non-scientific observations are correct, the traffic signal in the Bartlett direction was on demand until last fall. It now appears to be on a fixed cycle. Why the change? Rarely do I see traffic going in either direction on Bartlett while I am waiting at a red light when driving in either direction on Fourth. ' Arnold W., Medford Many of us at Since You Asked World Headquarters have to suffer through that light each day as we commute between work and our caves in the Cascades. It's OK, though ' the lagging light gives us time to contemplate your Since You Asked questions. According to Medford Public Works Director Cory Crebbin, that particular intersection has always had a fixed timing plan. There are no loop sensors in the asphalt, so it can't run in demand mode, changing as traffic stops at the light. The signal's timing hasn't changed but timing at nearby intersections has, which can create the perception that signal timing at that intersection has changed, he said. Send questions to Since You Asked, Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to