Letter From Frustrated Driver Alerts City of Brighton to Mistimed Traffic Signals

Two downtown Brighton traffic signals received a slight tune up to fix a timing issue after city staff was alerted to the problem from a Letter to the Editor.

Brighton resident Nelson St. Louis wrote to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus asking who the "brain surgeons" were that changed the timing of the red lights on Grand River Avenue, between North Street and Main street.

After seeing the letter, city staff investigated and discovered that the timing was indeed off, but only by a slight margin, according to Department of Public Services Director Matt J. Schindewolf. 

"The only time it had a negative impact on traffic, when traffic backed up, was during peak travel hours when traffic was very heavy," Schindewolf said. "Otherwise, you didn't even realize it."

City Manager Dana Foster said at most the city has to make that kind adjustment to traffic signals about twice a year - and usually only after a power outage.

"In this case it was a bit unusual because it wasn't a storm driven situation," Foster said.

Shindewolf said there's no real way to determine what happened to disturb the signals, but it could have been a power surge or some other similar problem.

Brighton Patch Facebook fan Gracie Bailey agreed with St. Louis' letter.

"The North Street light seems like the longest red light ever," she wrote.

Chasity Parrillo wrote, "The left turn light from Main Street onto Grand River only lets about three cars through at a time!"

Anytime anyone notices something out of place, either with traffic lights or anything else, officials say they should contact the City and report it so staff members can respond to the problem.

Residents can report problems online at www.brightoncity.org or by phone at 810-227-1911