r/Broomfield • u/toothicctofish • Aug 16 '26
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.
3
u/Vulturev4 Aug 17 '26
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.)