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Traffic Lights
How They Operate
All traffic lights "rest" on green on the main street (for example, on Dewdney Trunk Road) until there is a request to change from a vehicle or pedestrian on the side street. This is why at night the lights are all green on main streets.Please note: When crossing the road, pushing the button multiple times doesn't speed up the light! Pushing the button once does the same thing. The controller only accepts the signal once per cycle.
Maintenance
The traffic lights on Lougheed Highway are maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Highways with the exception of the seven lights in the downtown core, from 223 Street and Lougheed Highway to 116 Avenue and Lougheed Highway, which are maintained by Maple Ridge. The Electro-Mechanical section is responsible for the maintenance of 45 traffic intersections within Maple Ridge.
Uninterrupted Power Supply
Out of 45 traffic intersections maintained by Maple Ridge, 43 have uninterrupted power supply. This is a system using batteries to power the intersection for a period of time after the hydro power is out. A typical intersection can be powered off batteries from six to 12 hours.
Shrink Wrap
You may have noticed that some traffic controller cabinets are wrapped in a kind of plastic with various scenery. This "shrink wrap" of the traffic controllers almost eliminated the graffiti issue. Maple Ridge plans to wrap all the traffic controllers.
Bulbs
The City-maintained traffic lights all use LED traffic "bulbs," which use only 10 watts of energy compared with the 69 watts that the typical incandescent type uses.
Vehicle Detection
There are two ways to detect vehicles: metal detection or video detection.
- In the case of metal detection, there is a wire loop buried in the pavement in each lane located next to the stop bar. When a vehicle (metal) stops at the stop bar, the loop picks up the signal and the controller "knows" that a vehicle waits to cross the road.
- Thirty-three of our intersections have video detection. The detection is done by the software that monitors the change in the pixels of each camera. There is no video recording, though.
Red Light Cameras
Red light cameras are installed and maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Highways. The City only supplies the hydro power to the equipment, nothing else. There are three red light cameras:- Lougheed Highway at Dewdney Trunk Road, for east bound traffic
- Lougheed Highway at 203 Street, for east bound traffic
- Lougheed Highway at 207 Street, for west bound traffic
Reporting Issues
Report any traffic light issues for City-maintained lights to the Operations Centre at 604-463-9581. Issues with the ones maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Highways can be reported to 604-660-8300.