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I've been covering roads in Lake Norman and Cabarrus for almost a month, and the same question keeps popping up:
How are the timers set up on traffic lights, and how do you get them changed?
Readers have asked about the intersection of Bruton Smith Boulevard and Weddington Road in Concord, N.C. 73 and West Catawba Avenue in Lake Norman, and others.
Traffic lights can test patience; but Bill Coxe, who has worked on local transportation issues for more than 30 years, says there is no easy solution.
“Virtually all of those kinds of traffic signals are set by the N.C. Department of Transportation, but it is pretty clear that the state doesn't have the resources to adequately maintain it,” he said.
So if you want a signal changed, for now ask N.C. DOT, until more towns follow Charlotte's move.
The city of Charlotte maintains its own signals, and Huntersville, Cornelius and Concord all have discussed doing the same thing. That would mean a quicker response time to issues and fewer snags in the process to make it happen.
Coxe said changes aren't as easy as they might seem, though. He said signals are set to avoid backups on an interstate, and he added that any change can contribute to backups in other places. Kevin Cary
