Why you're hitting red lights on the Charlottetown Bypass

If you're one of the 20,000 drivers who use the Charlottetown Bypass daily,you've probably hit your share of red lights.

The lights between the Sears and the HillsboroughBridgeare supposed to be synchronized, so in theory once you get through one red light, from then on, you should ride a wave of green lights.

Many drivers say that's not always the case.

'I don't know if the odds are in my favour or against me'

"I get all reds. I don't think it's very efficient at all," said Laurie Dempster. She drives a parcel delivery van and is a regular driver of the bypass.

Rick Storey also uses the bypass most days.

"Every light you catch seems to be red. I'd hate to be a trucker, because you can't get going. You just gear up and you gotta gear down," said Storey.

"I find that I hit an awful lot of red lights. I don't know if it's me or the odds are in my favour or against me."

Put to the test

CBC News tested the lights, and travelled from one end of the bypass to the other and back again six times at different times of day.

Ride along on the Charlottetown Bypass

8 years ago

Duration 0:26

Ride along on the Charlottetown Bypass

The chances of getting a green at all nine traffic lights seemed to be about half and half. On one trip, we made it through all nine green lights, and one another we hit almost every red light.

Synchronized in one direction

The province admits only part of the highway has synchronized traffic lights.

"It is synchronized, but it is in a west to east direction, so if you're travelling from Malpeque Road along the bypass towards the hospital, the signals between Malpeque Road and Southgate are synchronized," saidAlan Aitken, traffic operations engineer with the Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy.

He said that's because slightly more traffic travels east on the bypass than west.

Higher than the speed limit

Aitken also said drivers may have to go slightly fasterthan the posted speed limit of 70 km/h to get more green lights. He said the lights are synchronized to match the speed of many drivers.

"It's a four-lane highway. People feel comfortable travelling at that approximately 75 to 78 km/h. If they are travelling with the majority of traffic, they will realize that they will get that coordination through the signals," he said.

Dempster said she doesn't like the idea of having to speed to get more green lights.

"That doesn't sound very good for me for what I do for a living, it's not a good thing. If you start doing that, then you find Charlottetown police waiting for you. It doesn't make much sense to me. People are already driving too fast. It's crazy," she said.

While it might seem to make sense to raise the speed limit to matchthe flow of traffic as well, the department said the safe speed around the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is 70 km/h, and that it's better to keep a single uniform speed along the whole bypass.