Saguenay corrects a situation related to the synchronization of traffic lights

It's been a little more than a year since the intersection of Talbot and University boulevards was secured with a pedestrian crossing. Since then, there have been many criticisms of the timing of the lights and the resulting traffic, especially during rush hours.

He wants to explain how traffic lights work in the city.

Pedestrian crossings on Talbot Boulevard can sometimes be frustrating for motorists. The traffic, dense at places, raises questions about the synchronization of traffic lights.

“Often I hear people say that the lights are not synchronized properly. It's not that they're not well synchronized, we have a lot of calls from pedestrians at intersections,” suggests Marco Bouchard, maintenance foreman for the city of Saguenay.

A city spokeswoman noted that the number of pedestrians using the intersection has quadrupled since the pedestrian crossings were added.

“We had to modify the entire cycle length of Talbot Boulevard to accommodate the new pedestrians. We went from a 110 second cycle to 140 seconds,” explained Mr. Bouchard.

When a pedestrian triggers a crossing signal, the imposed 30-second delay must be distributed over the entire duration of the additional cycle.

“So we are removing the green light at every intersection. It also causes more red lights and longer waits,” Foreman said in an interview.

“The shopping center area in Talbot is designed for cars only. There are some things that need to be done,” observed city spokesman Dominique Arceneau.

The right scene

The city said it chose the best possible scenario during its multiple analyses.

“We do business with consulting engineering firms that specialize in traffic lights. We have software. On average, it takes 7 minutes to cross Talbot and 14 minutes during peak hours. So another 7 minutes. I believe we are still a long way from big cities where traffic piles up for hours,” opined Mr. Bouchard.

For a right turn at the corner of University and Talbot…

“We tried to find solutions for this and we didn't find anything. We are still looking for ideas to improve it,” he admitted.

Other pedestrian crossings are expected to be added. The main artery, the one between Talbot and the Champs-Élysées, should be fully operational in the coming weeks. This means less fluid traffic at times, but the city says the goal of this type of addition is to allow better sharing of the road between users while prioritizing safety.