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Take one look in the Fast Forward mailbag this week, and one thing is clear: Folks are in a fluster about left-turn arrows.

Confused by left turn arrows? Irritated by No Right on Red decisions? What traffic annoyances do you have? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.


Most of this week's letters concern where they aren't but should be.

And when they are there, one reader is concerned he's wasting too much gas waiting for them to go from red to green.

We posed this week's round of frustrations — err — questions to Greensboro traffic engineer Adam Fischer.

First, G.L. Tebbit , a frequent traveler on Vandalia Road, is concerned about difficulty for drivers trying to turn left onto Holden Road and wonders why there isn't an arrow there.

"The lack of left-turn arrows at this intersection backs up traffic and results in some drivers taking a considerable risk to try to turn in front of oncoming traffic," Tebbit writes.

"The new library on Vandalia also increases traffic, and the day care facility results in young children frequently traveling through the intersection. Why not install left-turn arrows ... a simple solution?"

This isn't the first time the city has heard this request, Fischer said, noting that his department looked at adding left-turn arrows there a year ago. The problem? The intersection didn't meet left-turn lane warrants or guidelines issued by the Federal Highway Administration. The guidelines dictate numbers of left turns required versus oncoming traffic volume.

The guidelines also consider safety concerns based on traffic volume, and at last check the intersection was still in good shape.

"It wasn't a safety issue, and there wasn't the volume necessary (to add the signals)," Fischer said. "We'll check it again next time we are out there."

Another reader, who asked that her name not be used, has the same question about the lack of a left-turn arrow on eastbound West Market Street at the Thatcher Road intersection, which leads onto N.C. 68.

"That set of lights at Thatcher (Road) does not have a turn arrow for those travelers going up the ramp," she writes. "Traffic backs up all the way up the hill — especially in the afternoon with cars and trucks trying to make a left turn onto the ramp against oncoming traffic. Why can't we get a turn arrow there?"

Fischer said this is the first time he's heard of a complaint at that intersection and noted that crews will check it in the coming weeks. "We often do rely on the public letting us know things are getting intolerable," he said.

And finally, Ed Carroll of Pleasant Garden writes about his frustration with red "no turn" arrows and the precious gasoline they cost motorists.

"Why in the world don't we have red 'no left turn arrows' flashing red (instead of continuous red) after the green turn arrow turn sequence is over, so left turners can proceed if/when oncoming traffic is clear — as it seems

90 percent of the time," Caroll writes. "Much fuel is wasted unnecessarily in these situations!"

Fischer said flashing red arrows are in fact on the radar as a possibility for Greensboro in coming years.

"Our signal equipment won't accommodate that now," Fischer said. "It's becoming prominent in other parts of the nation, and few other areas in North Carolina are starting to do it."

Have a question you want answered or just need to vent about transportation issues? Send them to fastforward@news-record.com. Please be sure to leave your name and a way for us to get in touch.