When you think of it, it is not just an issue of time, it is an energy issue. No doubt about it, when you start and stop your car in traffic, it uses more gas than when you can just ride through stoplights.
The question is, why is it so darn hard for cities to synchronize lights?
Here in St. Petersburg, Fla., the city has figured out how to synchronize the lights perfectly on the major thoroughfares of First Avenues North and South and Fourth Street. I never hit a red light if I drive at the right speed.
But, for example,
in Bakersfield, Calif., the newspaper found the whole issue is fairly complicated. Traffic experts talk about the need to "platoon" bunches of cars.
Many traffic lights are deliberately set to obstruct traffic as...
