Just yesterday we gave an account of the battle waged by the Lega dei Ticinesi against the traffic lights of San Salvatore and Collina d’Oro which literally regulate the entry of vehicles on the Swiss A2 motorway and then stop traffic to avoid traffic jams in the tunnels. Today, also on the basis of that article, we receive the letter from Sergio who came across the system on the return from Lugano to Como and – as we will see – was disconcerted by what appeared to him to be a system that encourages queues instead of dispose of them. Below is the full text.
Good morning,
I just read that the Ticinesi League would like to remove the traffic lights that regulate traffic on the A2 motorway because they would be useless and would create inconvenience rather than reduce it. Well…from my experience today I can only confirm!!
I entered the A2 in Lugano around shortly after 3pm to return towards Como. I am not a regular user of the Swiss motorway nor a cross-border commuter, so what I report applies to my individual experience. Well, after a few kilometers of travel I found myself in front of the first “dispenser” traffic light, the one that switches on green and red alternately to allow one car to continue at a time, also encouraging vehicles arriving from the left to enter.
Oh well, I said to myself, this can also make sense in case of very heavy traffic, if the objective is to stagger the vehicles a little. At the same time, however, I must say that the alternation of red and green is so fast that, at least initially, it seemed to me that the traffic lights created a slowdown that was essentially superfluous, with no real advantages for anyone.
But the worst came later, at the red traffic light I found in front of the first tunnel. Here no fast alternation with green, but red disc and tail that quickly stretched out behind me.
I said to myself: we can see that in the tunnel or immediately after there will be an endless traffic jam, so rightly and for greater safety they won’t want to have cars queued up in the tunnel. But then – after a good wait and an increasingly long queue – the green light came on and…surprise! Not even a shadow of the column I imagined: very free motorway, practically zero traffic, or in any case absolutely smooth circulation up to the Brogeda customs (included).
In conclusion, from what I experienced today, the Ticino League is totally right: those traffic lights, at least at certain times of the day, seem absolutely useless to me. In fact, perhaps downright harmful.
Best regards,
Sergio
