Area traffic needs to see the light

Wiliam L. Rudd Albemarle County
Published: July 1, 2008

Kudos to the letter that appeared in the June 15 edition of The Daily Progress headlined “IRS, waiting at lights both taxing.”

I too find myself challenged to understand why a community that prides itself on academic excellence has lagged so far behind in traffic-control issues, particularly on U.S. 29.

In addition to the letter writer’s comment about the incredible waste of energy by vehicles stopping and starting at virtually every other light on U.S. 29 during peak traffic hours, there is the concern about the compromising of traffic lights as they change signals and about road rage.

On any given evening, I witness drivers racing down the far left lane on U.S. 29 North just beyond the intersection of Wal-Mart, desperately forcing a merge before the lane expires just beyond the Rivanna River Bridge.

One wonders how much fuel (and time, as the previous writer suggested) we could save in one precious year if the stoplights incorporated a true progressive [timed] system.