Does Madison Have Too Many Red Lights?

If you’re frustrated with the red light situation in Madison, you are in good company.

While stop lights are one of the necessary evils of commuting, they don’t guarantee safety for pedestrians or cooperation from drivers.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, red-light running is the number one cause of urban crashes. Furthermore in 2013, approximately 127,000 people were injured in red-light related accidents.

In August 2015, the National Coalition for Safer Roads released an interactive safety map that would allow users to see the number of red-light running deaths in their area as part of the group’s ‘Stop on Red’ initiative.

At Patch, we appreciate that our readers and motorists know the stop lights in Madison best. We asked you on Facebook how you felt about the red lights in our area. Could Madison use more red lights? Are there too many? What intersections need a stop light, or can get rid of one?

Here’s what readers said on social media:

• “NOT enough! There are some streets that really need them.”

• “Way too many in the center of town. It takes 15 minutes to get from one side to another.”

• “It does take a while to get across, but I think it would be more of a mess without them! That’s why I’ll zigzag around if I’m in a rush.“

• “Too many”

• “Has enough”

• “Speed bumps/humps are desperately needed on certain residential streets, though.”

Is there a red light in Madison you can’t stand? Is there an intersection that could desperately use a red light? Let us know on Facebook.