Lights Out … Quite Often
by Chuck Ring (GadAbout-BlogAlot ©2008)Â
Quote Freely From the Article — Leave The Pseudonym Alone
Green light, yellow light, red light, green light. That’s usually the way a traffic control signal cycles through to allow for the efficient flow of vehicles through high volume intersections. Why then does Edgewood have two signalized intersections that often blink red for days at a time?
The intersection at State Road 333 (Old 66) and State Road 344 and the intersection of State Road 344 and Interstate 40 have been “out of order” more than any signalized intersection I have ever seen … and I have seen many of them.
I recall that the Edgewood Town Council voted not to contract to maintain the lights, yet for some reason (I don’t recall a second vote) the town has contracted with someone who is supposed to maintain and repair the traffic signals when they become inoperable. I and others would like to know why a chronic problem exists with the intersections mentioned above and why the contractor takes an inordinate amount of time to respond to the problems and often takes days to rectify the problem.
Could it be that the equipment for the signals was defective from initial installation or that the contractor’s personnel are not trained well enough to resolve the issues or is there some other indeterminable reason the problem continues.
In addition to being a dangerous situation, the blinking red lights are not an efficient way to move traffic and the constant stop and go burns more fuel that an efficient signalized intersection.
Has there been any notice from the town to the contractor that the contractor’s performance might be below acceptable or has the town just continued to call when each problem crops up. One would hope that the contractor has been put on some sort of notice and this issue will be resolved before a serious accident occurs.
I did observe on December 13th, several pick-up trucks at the I-40/ State Road 344 intersection where traffic signals have been blinking for at least two days. It appeared that they were either contractor vehicles or a mix of Department of Transportation (DOT) vehicles and contractor vehicles. Maybe we can expect strength in numbers. Better yet, perhaps we can convince the DOT to take over the situation and use the 1/8 of one cent gross receipts transit tax to pay for the mess.
Addendum: I have egg on my face because I misunderstood the situation with the responsibility for the traffic lights. The correct information is that the town pays for the electricity for the signals and the DOT maintains the signals and all things pertinent to them.
I spoke to one of the DOT supervisors this morning and he informed me that DOT believes they have a solution and he expects that the issue will be resolved very soon.
My apologies for the initial information.
6 Responses “Lights Out … Quite Often”
Mr. Ring,
I am indeed surprised at your “concern”. Don’t you realize that when the lights are off , no electricity is being used? This is simply a plan by the town to conserve energy. We really must give our town leaders creidit when they do something right! Of course there might be a few “fender benders” because of this plan .Not to worry,though as this could generate some business for the local auto repair shops. Another factor to consider is while cars are being repaired, their owners need some place to stay. Thus, we have a benefit for our local B&B. What a way to “capture”some potential tourists!
Mr. Ring,
Now it is two days later (since you first wrote your article) and the lights are still not functioning!! I guess this proves my points I mentioned in the previous comment. Or there is another possibility? I know that if our Blog readers were to call the town headquarters at Tel# 286-4518, our town fathers would then at least know that the lights are not functioning. This also kind of reminds me of an old song “When the lights go down in the city…”
Mr. Steiner,
The folks at town hall are very aware that the signal are not functioning as needed. They are in communication with the DOT personnel.
These relationships between the Town and the DOT seem unusually problematic. Earlier this year, there was the weed issue along NM 344, and now we see a continuing problem with the traffic lights. One would hope that the party(ies) responsible for keeping the lights running will make sure that local citizens’ safety is given an appropriate level of priority in the future.
I did in fact witness an accident at the I-40 overpass intersection while the lights were still in blinking mode. I think the blinking lasted three days…at least. Great blog! Keep it up. As a mother of four I love to stay informed.
Thanks for the nice comments. Have a nice Christmas and be careful so you can continue to enjoy your lovely family.