- Why coordinate Signals?
- What streets in the City of McAllen are coordinate and when?
- How can I request speed humps?
- What is the difference between speed bumps and speed humps?
- What do I do if a street light is out in my neighborhood?
- Why does the left-turn arrow come on after the green ball at this intersection?
- Why is the WALK light so short, and the flashing DON'T WALK light so long?
- Why doesn’t the City lower the posted speed limit to slow traffic on arterial and collector roadways?
- Why does the light take so long to turn green?
1. Why coordinate signals?
Motorists encounter traffic signals in nearly every route they travel, and although signalized intersections increase safety, they can be a source of delay and frustration. Traffic signal coordination is a cost effective way to improve the flow of traffic along a specific corridor. By retiming existing traffic signals to current traffic patterns, the efficiency of each intersection will increase dramatically. Improved traffic flow produces reduced intersection delays, lower air pollution/vehicular emissions, and reduced gasoline consumption. The goal of coordination is to get the greatest number of vehicles through the system with the fewest stops in a comfortable manner. While it would be ideal if every vehicle entering the system could proceed through the system without stopping, this is not possible even in a well-spaced, well-designed system.
Not all City streets warrant coordination. Typically, a street is selected for coordination if it carries a certain amount of traffic along the arterial during peak hours. In most cases, coordination is active from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during weekdays. The individual signals operate on a traffic activated basis outside of these hours.
2. What streets in the City of McAllen are coordinated and when?
There are a total of eleven corridors that exist in the City of McAllen that are coordinated generally from 7:00am to 7:00pm, Monday thru Friday, with a few exceptions. The corridors are:
- McColl Road- From Dove to Ridge
- Colonel Rowe (2nd Street)- From Trenton to Savannah
- 10th Street- From Trenton to Wichita
- Bicentennial (18th Street)- From Nolana to Uvalde
- 23rd Street- From Trenton to Uvalde
- Ware Road- From Trenton to Kennedy
- Trenton- From 2nd to Ware
- Dove- From McColl to Ware
- Nolana- From McColl to Ware
- Pecan- From McColl to Ware
- Business 83- From McColl to Ware
3. How can I request speed humps?
To request speed humps, please read our Policy and send an email request, or written request to:
P.O. Box 220, 78505-0220
210 N. 20th Street
McAllen, TX 78501
4. What is the difference between speed bumps and speed humps?
Speed humps, or “Speed Tables”, are wider than speed bumps (generally 12’ in width) and allow for a quieter, more comfortable ride when driving at a safe speed and an uncomfortable ride for those who are not. Speed humps accomplish this to produce the desired effect of reducing speeding.
5. What do I do if a street light is out in my neighborhood?
To be eligible, a street segment that has the street light must be in the City limits. To report a street light outage, contact your local electric company via the web or call with the street light number located on pole and street address.
- AEP: https://www.aeptexas.com/CustomerService/ReportTrouble/StreetLight, or 1-877-373-4858.
- Magic Valley Electric Co-op: 1-866-225-5683
- Sharyland Utilities: (956) 668-9551
- Citizens may also contact our department at (956) 688-3420.
6. Why does the left turn arrow come on after the green ball at this intersection?
The change to the lead-lag left turn arrows is just a component of an overall coordination plan the City of McAllen has implemented. They allow improved progression, reduced delay and lower overall intersection accidents. Lagging arrows do have some advantage over leading arrows in certain circumstances and have been implemented accordingly.
7. Why is the WALK light so short, and the flashing DON'T WALK light so long?
The flashing DON'T WALK signal for pedestrians is similar to a yellow light for vehicles. If a person has started to finish crossing a street and the flashing light appears, they will have time to cross the street. If the flashing DON'T WALK signal appears and a person has not started to cross the street, they should wait for the next WALK. At some intersections, the WALK signal will not appear unless the pedestrian push button is pushed.
8. Why doesn’t the City lower the posted speed limit to slow traffic on arterial and collector roadways?
Contrary to popular belief, lowering the speed limit on a roadway will not slow traffic down. Most motorists travel at a speed which they feel is safe for given the surroundings, regardless of posted speed limit signs. The State established the 85th percentile speed as the prudent speed for a roadway. That is the speed at which 85% of the motorists are traveling at or below. For this reason, state law requires speed limits be posted at the nearest 5mph increment to the 85th percentile speed, an additional 5mph reduction in the speed limit can be justified given certain conditions.
9. Why does the light take so long to turn green?
Many factors may attribute to this, such as intersections that are congested and have an elevated volume of traffic approaching from different directions. Also, pedestrian traffic may be a source of wait time. If a pedestrian pushes the cross walk button, the WALK and flashing clearance will stay on for a calculated amount of time, requiring conflicting traffic movements to have a red light. The longer the crossing distance, the longer the flashing clearance has to stay on. In some instances, it is an issue of priority, as a roadway with heavier traffic will typically have more green time than the side street with less traffic to reduce overall delay to the most number of drivers. Some of our busier roadways have the signals synchronized during peak traffic hours, and that may cause the side street approaches to wait longer than normal.