Roadwork brings some unintended consequences.
Take the light at 41st Street and Colby Avenue. During recent afternoons, the light would stay green for only a short time for northbound traffic, noted my colleague Diana Hefley.
“About two cars were getting through per cycle,” she said. “It’s maddening!”
Backups got so bad people ran the red light. Meanwhile, lights for other direction of travel had ample time.
Everett Public Works spokeswoman Kathleen Baxter said a fix was in the works.
The problem stemmed from a recent pavement overlay project, which temporarily removed vehicle detection sensors, she said. There also was a pre-existing problem with intermittent short northbound green signals in the afternoon.
“When the overlay process is complete, new vehicle detection sensors will be activated,” Baxter said. “In the meantime, we have implemented temporary signal timing measures that are based on typical traffic volumes but are not able to respond to actual changes in traffic demand.”
City staff continue to investigate the lingering timing problem and seek a fix.
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