Regardless of how many traffic signals are installed in Lawton intersections, some motorists ignore red lights.
“You can’t fix stupid,” Councilman George Gill said.
At least part of the problem is Lawton’s antiquated traffic control systems, “the majority of which is more than 50 years old,” said Gill, chairman of the city’s Streets & Bridges Committee.
“Our lack of modern technological equipment causes a lot of delays at traffic lights, some for two to three minutes or even longer,” Gill said. Consequently, frustrated drivers ‘run’ red lights.
B.J. Hawkins, a principal in Traffic Engineering Consultants based in Oklahoma City, told the City Council last November that TEC counted 86 signalized intersections in Lawton; those junctions are operated with 10 different models of controllers and seven different vehicle detection types.
Most of the traffic signal equipment in Lawton is “out of date,” Hawkins said.
“Our estimate for revamping traffic controls across the city was somewhere between $80 million to $90 million,” Gill said. “We don’t have the money to do that.”
“We’re working hand-in-hand with the committee on this issue,” Lawton Police Lt. Charles Whittington told Southwest Ledger. “This is high on the priority list” of Police Chief James Smith.
The committee also discussed construction of traffic control “pork chop” islands at Cache Road and Northwest 23rd Street, on both the north and south sides of the intersection.
In traffic engineering, a “pork chop island” refers to a triangular or wedge-shaped island of concrete formed by a right-turn slip lane designed to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.
The devices are intended to keep traffic on Cache Road flowing unimpeded. For example, a “pork chop” island would prevent drivers exiting the Chick-fil-A on the north side of Cache Road from pulling over into the outside westbound lane and blocking traffic while trying to cross directly over into the eastbound lanes.
Another topic debated at the meeting was considering a request that the City Council require developers of new subdivisions to install street lights. According to Public Works Director Michael Watrous, “We don’t have a city policy on that,” Gill said.