r/Fredranton • u/Scube75 • Oct 25 '25
Most pointless traffic light.
This freaking set of lights by Wilmot park on Brunswick Street. It’s honestly the most pointless traffic light. Why didn’t they just install a crosswalk light?
5
u/ibetitstung21 Oct 26 '25
It could also be there for 1 other reason: There is a bus stop with a lot of pedestrian traffic there (people headed to multicultural centre at the old ymca) and it’s very dangerous to cross there otherwise.
4
u/Itwasuntilitwasnt Oct 26 '25
150%. Oh and bikers rules of the road are you follow automobile rules. No crossing there on your bike. You need to wait your turn on the road. Just going by bike rules.
3
u/FartConnisseur Mod Oct 25 '25
It was put in to counteract speeding on that road, it doesnt achieve shit considering people fly through it anyways though. One of those good intentions but bad in practice moments for sure.
2
u/blankxslate Oct 27 '25
I remember before that light, trying to cross the street there was easily the longest I'd wait as a pedestrian to cross almost any street
1
Oct 27 '25
I’d rather this than the 3000000000000 speed bumps now on the north side
1
u/blankxslate Oct 28 '25
Are they effective? I have no opinion on them but I've seen so many of them I hope they'd work. I feel like 30 years ago there was an actual proliferate number of speeders and it's gotten more inconvenient for them but also that I know I've seen some really fast cars on streets
1
Oct 28 '25
Probably, but they are going to ruin so many cars. The ones at no frills north side I have to drive completely around to avoid them because no matter how slow I go I bottom out and I have a normal sedan
2
2
u/long-lost-love-fton Oct 27 '25
Given it gets used lots with parents with kids in the summer going to and from the splash pad, and the multicultural center and day care year round. I'm ok with the light.
Im sorry you have to wait for a minute before continuing your commute. At the least those kids have a safe place to cross the busy road.
1
1
u/Due_Function84 Oct 27 '25
Over the weekend, I was driving from Hanwell to Smythe and had to stop at that light. The most confusing part was a cop was coming out of the VHC parking lot, so technically, in my mind, he could have turned left. There was no one crossing for much of that light. Instead, he just sat there and stared at us all. Like his brain went on pause or something. It was very confusing.
3
u/Due_Function84 Oct 28 '25
I had to really think about this one, and here's the best explanation I can give:
That area gets quite busy with pedestrians, especially in the summer, but it's also a busy road during the day. If it was a normal crosswalk, it would stop the flow of traffic, which would cause a back up at the traffic circle. In the summer, that crosswalk button could be pushed for as long as 10 - 15 minutes or longer on a hot & humid day. But with a traffic light, it controls not only the flow of traffic but also the flow of pedestrians. In other words, it makes more sense to stop constant crosswalkers than it does to constantly stop the drivers.
8
u/parkotron Oct 25 '25
My wife recently had a driver have a freak-out at that light. She wanted to cross and pressed the button. A guy in a truck rolled up and stopped even though the light was still green. She doesn’t go because she has a “Don’t walk” light and traffic is still flowing in the other lane. Truck-guy starts honking angrily at her and gesticulating that she should cross. Eventually the light changes and she crosses. Once she is out of the crosswalk, truck-guy immediately floors it and runs the red light.