August 30, 2010
One of the busiest pedestrian and vehicle intersections in the City of Ithaca, with one of the oldest traffic lights, has just gotten an upgrade. City engineers spent much of the summer installing a new traffic light and walk light system at the corner of College Avenue and Dryden Road in the center of Collegetown.
The new system, activated this weekend, features a pair of three-color (red, amber, and green) traffic lights facing in each traffic direction, and a set of walk and don't-walk pedestrian signals for each crosswalk.
A block from the south edge of the Cornell University campus and the Cascadilla Creek gorge, this intersection faces a constant stream of traffic and pedestrians through a densely populated student residential area with lots of shops and eateries.
While the City of Ithaca Common Council initially authorized $125,000 for the design and construction of the new traffic signal system, the City was ultimately able to use stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to cover most of the cost. The City spent about an initial $25,000 on the design phase, and will be reimbursed for the remaining roughly $160,000 from Federal stimulus funds.
The new lights are brighter and easier to see, and the vehicle lights and walk lights are staggered so pedestrians have a chance to walk without worrying about turning vehicles, and drivers have a chance to turn without worrying about pedestrians. Previously, the lack of walk signals and the intersection's "no turn on red" signs meant turning cars and pedestrians frequently clashed.
City Transportation Engineer Tim Logue said wanting to add pedestrian signals was a big impetus for replacing the old system, which dated back to the 1970s or even earlier. Logue also cited the growing difficulty in finding spare parts for the old "electro-mechanical" traffic signal system. The new system also features two signal-heads facing each direction, which Logue says "meets the newer standards that the state and federal governments want to see."
Logue added that the traffic signal timing remains similar, with about as much time in each direction displaying a green light as before. He says City engineers will be tweaking the timing as necessary as they analyze how drivers and pedestrians respond to the new setup.
