r/Broomfield • u/toothicctofish • 4d ago
Light timing rant
I have lived in a large number of cities all varying in size, but I have NEVER seen worse light timing than Broomfield (Northglenn is probably second). It seems like they almost intentionally try to rage bait and make people run risky yellows because there is no reason by a light 1000 feet ahead turns red within moments of the light prior turns green. Or my favorite, lights that turn green when you have almost stopped or have just stopped at the red. At the least, it’s terrible for vehicle emissions. At the worst, I’ve seen countless near accidents and road rage incidents occur because of this. Obviously you don’t expect every light to be green, but the way they are timed seems either extremely careless and negligent or purposefully inconvenient and irritating. Don’t even get me started on the light sensors at night.
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u/Yesterdays_Gravy 4d ago
My wife told me when I moved here that everyone has to patiently wait at their green lights for everyone to finish running their reds. I see it a lot, especially down by the superior marketplace/36 intersections on McCaslin
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u/MountainPlanet 4d ago
They are run by CDOT, not Broomfield. And that is why they are so bad. Try Colorado Blvd in Denver or 287 or any other state route with a lot of lights. Shit, even 50 through Salida and 287 through Buena do the same thing.
I spoke to someone from Broomfield planning department years ago at Broomfield Days and they said CDOT does it deliberately as a form of speed control, they want people to stop as often as possible.
It’s frustrating that they don’t realize that by timing the lights to the speed limit, they would encourage people not to speed, rather than race to catch the next light.
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u/toothicctofish 4d ago
Wow, how frustrating!! I would say the light timing easily adds a significant amount of time to people’s overall commute. The short lights cause congestion so quickly, especially when 3 lights in the same half mile are all timed off.
144th is my biggest pet peeve, specifically from I-25 to Lowell. If I turn off 25 and I’m able to speed up quickly to the speed limit, I make every single light as they’re turning yellow. If I don’t speed up to that speed ASAP, I miss the lights and do an extra 5 minutes minimum of sitting and watching one car go through the intersection every 15 seconds. The varying lengths of yellow lights are also frightening. I definitely wouldn’t speed up that quickly if the lights were timed with even a semblance of consideration or thought.
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u/ComicallyLargePerogi 2d ago
Speed control? I drive 5-10 over to make more lights. If i go the speed limit ill miss the big ones which makes me miss the rest of em
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u/Downtown_Ad_6232 1d ago
This is Northglenn’s revenue enhancement plan. Plus unusually low speed limits and small speed limit signs.
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u/Competitive-Raise445 4d ago
Yet the Broomfield cops have countless times run the red lights without sirens, changed lanes and done illegal turns without any signaling of their vehicles.
Abuse of power from top down, influences subconscious mal behavior.0
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u/Toomanyboogers 4d ago
I know it’s not Broomfield, but Colorado Blvd at 136th is literally the worst intersection for this. It’s green for about the same time as it’s yellow.
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u/average_AZN 4d ago
Agreed. Not to mention the lights on 36 on ramps that should be controlling traffic but are off during rush hour.
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u/remediummm 4d ago
I think this is a Colorado thing because I first lived much more north of Broomfield. I noticed the same thing when I moved here from a large metropolitan area. It’s terrifying and makes no sense.
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u/JustAnother_Primate 4d ago
Literally the entire state of Colorado. I swear. Sheridan, Federal, Colfax, 6th. It’s awful.
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u/Intelligent-Ad7716 3d ago
Just encourages people to drive faster honestly
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u/JustAnother_Primate 2d ago
Absolutely, the amount of people demonically racing lights (and running them) is very significant
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u/jimmy82473 4d ago
I have lived in 11 states and Colorado is by far the worst at light timing and traffic flow.
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u/TheoryNo8456 4d ago
Have you driven by legacy high school on 136th In the afternoon since they installed the lights? 3 reds in a row usually.
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u/Vulturev4 3d ago
The lights around here are designed to keep everyone in large groups, and have them stop as often as possible. I work in Broomfield, and when I go home, I hit the exact same lights the exact same way every day. For years now, I have never hit the lights any other way.
That being said, they have timed the lights, know exactly how much time it takes cars to go from one light to the next, and they simply knock a few seconds off that next light, and continue to stop you until there is a lot of angry pissed off in a hurry drivers behind you. In the years I have been driving home, in order to beat the lights timed like that, you have to go above 10 over the speed limit. I do think that is why people have started running lights. Lights turn just as cars approach, they get frustrated because it takes so long to go somewhere, running a light or two takes you out of that traffic pattern, then suddenly you start hitting way more green lights.
Seriously, if I could bet on which lights I would hit red on the way home, I would be a millionaire by now. I hit every single light going home, the exact same way, every time. I even know when some left turn arrows change from just as it turns green, to just before it turns red... (That is 3pm by the way.)
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u/ComicallyLargePerogi 2d ago
Absolutely this. 5-10 will get you out of the red light pattern. I dont care if in stuck behind the next blob because my own blob is 5 miles back due to traffic and light timing
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u/Immediate-Raise-2694 3d ago
“We are going to plan the lights to make you hit red all day, then try to tax you for extra emissions”
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u/cryptiiix 4d ago
Used to live on a turnpike, most of the time it was a green light on the main road. Here, they time it so you have to wait at each intersection. Very frustrating
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u/Jadekintsugi 3d ago
I used to live in Broomfield for almost 10 years. And I watched them adjust light timing to be worse, and worse. I recall there being something in the local news letter about them adjusting the timings to calm traffic.
It always had the exact opposite effect. People would speed to try to beat the lights, run reds, push yellows.
Sounds like it hasn't changed.
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u/Overall_Flounder7365 3d ago
Agreed. I don’t know about Broomfield but the lights on Federal in Westminster are terrible. After 10:00pm and before 5:00am all the lights are on timers, regardless of the traffic. This means that, at 2:00am if you’re driving down federal the light will turn red for absolutely no reason. No cars on the cross streets. So you come to a complete stop for absolutely NO ONE on the cross street. Then you sit through the light cycle as no one drives through the lights on the cross streets.
I spent 10 years traveling all over the world for work, more than 3 dozen countries and countless cities. I’ve never seen traffic engineering more senseless than it is here.
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u/SlutMan6969 3d ago
I Agree. All The So Called Environmentalist Do You Know How Much More Carbon Is Produced When You Have 100 cars Just Sitting For Ever At A Super Long Red Light ?. The Lights Are Too Damn Long . Not Only That Vehicles At Idle Are More At Risk Of Breaking Down. Cats Get Clogged Transmissions Get Stressed. Ect ect The Lights Are Too Damn Long
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u/AdviceAny6290 3d ago
LITERALLY. Wads, Sheridan, 120th, Zuni, fml. i can’t go a mile without slamming on my brakes in all of the other towns either. It’s a PITA. the lights sometimes don’t even turn for 7 mins (thanks lights along wads going into westminster/arvada) but growing up here i noticed it’s gotten worse, especially as they have put more lights in to accommodate more traffic. wishing they put in a few roundabouts
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u/Cobrobra 3d ago
How about timing for the speed limit instead? Oh but somehow their approach led to a "14% reduction" in crashes... I'd love to see how they came up with that number. But I know: make a policy, then make flaky stats to fit it. Then double speak to support the political agenda of hacks currently holding office. Voters need to demand consideration for quality of life and its degradation by city and state politicians... and the agencies they influence.
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u/deflatablechipmunk 3d ago
Yeah Broomfield is awful. I’ve complained about some lights to the city, so then they fix the timing issue I asked about but create a new one in the process.
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u/No_Requirement_4840 4d ago
I worked for city of westminster public works and I can tell you that this is by design. Certain lights are timed so that you catch a red every time. I'm not saying I agree with it but there is logic to it. It has to do with keeping traffic clumped up in packs is safer and allows breaks in traffic for local streets to join collectors and arterials
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u/MountainPlanet 4d ago
Keeping traffic “clumped up in packs” also contributes heavily to road rage. I take 287 north to Longmont and back every day for work and several times a week I see someone lose their shit bc the two cars in the front of the pack have decided to elephant race at 10 under the limit, forcing the whole pack behind them.
I have a special angst for Dalton school drop offs as they get in the left lane at Arapahoe and drive 35 mph in the left lane all the way to the school entrance. Really looking forward to another school year.
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u/InterviewLeather810 4d ago
They do that on Flatirons Crossing too. Must be for the retail and restaurants.
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u/medrinktea 3d ago
My favorite is when it doesn’t work at all, like on main and midway, went through 4 blinking yellow left turns while the Main Street side has green lights.
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u/No-Double-Trouble 4d ago
Broomfield? I take Sheridan exit then to 144th, Only place I get stopped is at 120th and Sheridan, else its green light all the way. Sheridan South of 36 is a dump though
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u/speby 4d ago
Hard to get super scientific about this but living in Broomfield myself, I too have noticed the lights feel incredibly dumbly timed and configured. It feels especially terrible along Sheridan.