that light is so annoying! it totally backs up to 76 quite often and messes up the whole highway even. Usually it takes about 2 lights or more, to get through. If a truck is in front of you, you can probably kiss your chances of getting through it goodbye, as they have to drive very slowly to make that turn, also. Why do all the other signals at that exact light have a much longer time limit?

What's the problem there? The cameras were placed to reduce people blowing the light and t-boneing the people making the left. It's working and on a Friday night flashes like a Hollywood movie premire.

That light sucks like no other & I'm from NYC.

When I have to get off at that exit, I make a right, go to WAWA for something & turn the hell around.

blah.

Because rather than improve traffic flow there they just set out to make sure everyone slams on their breaks at yellow lights, making it even worse?

Because people down the Blvd aren't rich enough to get someone to listen to them so they have to sit in traffic for 30 min to go 4 miles?

Because it is one of the most poorly designed road systems I've ever seen in my life and the redlight camara did nothing to make it better?

Because what ever you've been told the man result of those cameras has been to bring in money to Philadelphia. Historically redlight cameras increase traffic accidents at intersections.

Pick one.

I take the Blvd once in a while and I average about 15 mph.

The light at Belmont Ave. off the Schuylkill is not PennDOT's fault though. It's MontCo's.

As for the PA Turnpike, its not PennDOT's either. That was built by the PA Turnpike Commission which is separate from PennDOT. It is still run by PA Turnpike, not PennDOT. PennDOT does not have authroity to run toll roads.

In fact, it is because of how PA Turnpike and PennDOT are separate authorities that I-95 and the PA Tunpike do not have an interchange and why you must exit at Breezewood to continue onto I-70. For decades, the two were prohibited from jointly working on a project like building interchanges between their respective roads. I think that might actually have been a federal law (with roads that receive federal Interstate funds like the PennDOT roads being prohibited from co-mingling with state toll roads like PA Turnpike). That law is now gone but the costs and complexities of building interchanges now at I-95 and I-70 are pretty prohibitive.

.

Not true. There was a thread on this earlier. http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/showthread.php?t=10300 In a nutshell, red light cameras may result in an increase in rear-ends, but that is more than offset by a decrease the number of angle ("T-bone") crashes, which are usually much more severe. Rear-end crashes are more likely to result only in damage to the car.

Neither PennDOT nor Montco owns the traffic light; Lower Merion Twp does. And, considering that Lower Merion PD probably has to respond every time there's an accident at that intersection, the Twp probably has just as much of an interest as anyone in finding ways to fix the light. There may be no easy fixes.

The earlier comment about actually complaining to officials is still valid. You could either call LM directly or call PennDOT.

I am still confused. who exactly do I call/email to complain? I will keep doing it at least once everyday until they do. They will not ignore me forever.

You know, for as much as that light is a pain in the arse, I've never seen an accident there (and I'm through that intersection many times a week)...

I think basically what it comes down to is, the longer they make that light green, the more traffic backs-up on Belmont ave. and Green Lane/Main Street. Therefore they keep the green light short in order to improve the flow of traffic out of the neighborhoods. I guess the lesser of 2 evils is to have traffic backup on the expressway ramp, rather than in the neighborhoods.

What we really need is another bridge across the Schuykill, somewhere between Manayunk and Conshy.

I rear-ended somebody on 76 West at the Belmont ramp (the other side has a similar problem, but not to the same extent) after a pickup cut off the guy in front of me to skip ahead in heavy traffic. He slammed on brakes and went to the shoulder, and, well, so did I. Ka-thunk. Fortunately his was a company car, and he was pissed at the guy in the pickup, not me.

If I'm coming from 76 East I hang a right, loop behind the gas station and turn left at the next light. Pretty simple, unless Belmont/Green Lane is backed up.