VISUAL ESSAY / INTERSECTIONS

Signal Timing

FIELD GUIDE

Give Green Where Needed

Equal green time for two crossing directions can be a poor choice when one direction carries much more traffic. The under-served approach accumulates a queue while the quieter approach receives green time it cannot fully use.

Side-by-side versions of the same crossroads face substantial demand, with the horizontal movement roughly twice the vertical one. One uses equal signal splits; the other adjusts the green allocation using Webster's timing logic while retaining the same yellow intervals. Dynamic queue totals on the right make the consequences visible over many cycles. The point is not that a single timing formula is perfect in every circumstance. It is that signal timing should reflect competing demand and lost time rather than divide a cycle mechanically. A well-chosen split can keep queues from growing needlessly without changing the intersection's physical layout.