How do light sequences work with BRTs/LRTs with right-of-ways in your area?

[MisterSG1]

To give a background if you don't know what I mean, what I mean by right-of-way is when the LRT/streetcar/bus has a dedicated lane(s) usually in the median of the road. I know this exists for example on portions of the Gold Line in Los Angeles. This is an example on Spadina Ave in Toronto, similar setups also in exist in Toronto on St. Clair Avenue, Queen's Quay, and a portion of The Queensway from roughly the Humber River to Roncesvalles:



One of the frustrations with right-of-way transit routes, which in theory should be much faster, is the time they spend holding at red lights. This is the #1 reason why I strongly opposed Toronto's Transit City LRT plan way back when in 2007, long before the late Rob Ford was even really known to everyone in the GTA, and long before his crusade against it. (which he never unfortunately had a strong argument against it)

In most cases, the light sequence for such a road with a transit right of way runs in this sequence, bear in mind that practically all examples of the right of way are going to require that left turns be completely controlled with their own signals. Suppose NB-SB has the LRT:

NB-SB Main Traffic RED - NB-SB Transit Signal RED - NB-SB Left Turn Signal RED
NB-SB Main Traffic RED - NB-SB Transit Signal RED - NB-SB Left Turn Signal GREEN
NB-SB Main Traffic GREEN - NB-SB Transit Signal GREEN - NB-SB Left Turn Signal RED
NB-SB Main Traffic RED - NB-SB Transit Signal RED - NB-SB Left Turn Signal RED

This becomes frustrating when you are a transit rider, and you have to wait around 20 seconds at each light extra for the left turn signal to run its course....on top of that, in most cases the actual transit stop follows the light, so yet you stop again.

I've done a stopwatch experiment with the 510 Spadina route, and I estimate with the 3 trials I've done of the experiment (I know you would need a lot more) that the streetcar spends roughly 30% stopped at red lights. Considering this exact same system will be used on the other LRT routes, I think people will see how much the LRT concept really sucks, and that I was right all along.

So what I've thought about, how about they make the left turn signal occur at the end of the light sequence, this way, the streetcar can move through the intersection quicker, traffic that intends to make a left turn can enter the left turn lane(s) more easily and get through the light on the same sequence, unlike before where traffic that gets into the left turn lane will have to wait for the current sequence to end, and the cross-traffic's sequence to end as well.

What do you think about that? That's something that's been floating in my mind for years but I've never really told anyone. As well, how our right-of-ways dealt with in your area?

[kj3400]

In Baltimore, there are only 5 signals on Howard St. where traffic is allowed to turn left across light rail tracks with a protected green arrow. All the rest prohibit turns across the tracks or are one way streets.
Of the five, two have lagging protected greens, one being where Howard turns one way going north, and the other when it resumes being two way. The 3rd light is a leading protected green, and is at Dolphin/Preston/Biddle Sts. And the last two lights are at Lexington Street, where the northbound tracks cut across for a station and Saratoga St, where they cut back across and stay there. In these cases, the light rail, Howard St and the side streets alternate.

[roadman]

In Boston and Brookline, the surface lines of the MBTA Green Line recently ugraded to the new LRT signals (with colored indications) at locations where the private reservation intersects the cross streets.  However, as of now, the LRT signal phases run concurrently with the through vehicle phases (left turns across the LRT tracks have separate phases).  Priority treatment for the transit vehicles has been discussed for at least a decade, but hasn't gotten anywhere meaningful.  MBTA management claims that Boston and Brookline don't want priority treatment, and Boston and Brookline claim the MBTA doesn't want it.

[ekt8750]

In Philly SEPTA got the city to equip the lights on the roads where their light rail lines run in the street with Opticom receivers and fitted their cars with emitters for signal preemption. There's a couple of instances in the city and their two lines in the suburbs where the lines run in the median and they have their own signals that are tied into the intersection's traffic signal and they get their own phase. Also in the two lines in the suburbs have their own rights of way with crossings protected by traffic lights (it would take forever to explain why that happened).