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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; You&#8217;re running late in the morning, rushing to get to work, and all of a sudden, the light turns red. And you wait for what seems like an eternity for it to turn green.</p><p>After getting stuck at our share of endless red lights, we decided to track which traffic lights in Greater Wilkes-Barre are the longest and what goes into timing the lights.</p><p>We asked Times Leader readers for input on the longest lights, and we received dozens of answers, with reports of long waits all across the area.</p><p>From Highland Park Boulevard to the corner of Scott and Pine streets &#8212; a light that some readers said lasts almost five minutes &#8212; there was no shortage of commuter comments.</p><p>The light with the most complaints? Exit 3 coming off the Cross Valley Expressway. Readers said no matter which way a car is traveling on River Street, the wait for three lights at the intersection of that street and Route 309 is just too long.</p><p>So how are the lights timed? And do they really stay red for five minutes?</p><p>The answers: We&#8217;ll explain; and probably not.</p><p>To find out wait times, we drove to the three lights with the most reader complaints: River Street coming off Exit 3 of the Cross Valley in Plains Township; the left turn at Highland Park Boulevard by the Lord &amp; Taylor in Wilkes-Barre; and the intersection of Blackman Street and Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Consistent with reader input, we had the longest wait at Exit 3 &#8212; two minutes and 14 seconds. Next, the wait at Blackman Street was 1:11. The downfall there is that the green light lasts less than 30 seconds.</p><p>Lastly, the left turn onto Highland Park Boulevard took only one minute (exactly) of wait time.</p><p>Butch Frati, director of operations for Wilkes-Barre, explained that the lights in the city are governed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation but are maintained by the city. Frati said the timing of the lights is based on several factors, including the area&#8217;s pedestrian and vehicle traffic.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s gotta be updated periodically,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Tom Pichiarella, PennDOT signal supervisor for Luzerne County, said that when the agency prepares to install a traffic light in the county, it has to gather data &#8212; including vehicle counts for the intersection &#8212; and then determine how to program the yellow and red lights.</p><p>&#8220;It gets complex,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The lights in the county also work off a sensor system, meaning that depending on traffic, the lights will be longer or shorter.</p><p>Frati used the Butler Street light as an example. If there are fewer cars, the sensors will allow the light to stay green for a longer period of time. Once traffic picks up, the system regulates itself. So if traffic is light one day, you might not wait as long as you would during rush hour the next day.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all based on the time of the day and the counts,&#8221; Pichiarella said.</p><p>And while red lights in the city seemingly can last an eternity, Frati said it&#8217;s more common to wait less than a minute.</p><p>&#8220;The normal length is 30 seconds,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The longest wait time at a light in Greater Wilkes-Barre should be two to three minutes, Frati said, so if someone is waiting that long, there might be a malfunction in the sensor at that light.</p><p>Pichiarella said if a driver is waiting five minutes at a light, something might be wrong.</p><p>&#8220;You should not be waiting more than four minutes, but it&#8217;s possible,&#8221; he said.</p><p>If a light is taking too long to change, Pichiarella said there may be a malfunction in the system, so it&#8217;s important to contact PennDOT at 570-963-4061.</p><p>As for the lights at River Street, James May &#8212; PennDOT District 4 press officer &#8212; said the agency will start replacing the ramps coming on and off of Exit 3 within two years.</p><p>When that happens, May said PennDOT will start to update the systems for the lights in that area.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The light at the intersection of Blackman Street and Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre. Reader estimate: long. Our experience: 1 minute, 11 seconds. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_traffic-light-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>The light at the intersection of Blackman Street and Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre. Reader estimate: long. Our experience: 1 minute, 11 seconds. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_traffic-lighttoned-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The light at the intersection of Blackman Street and Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre. Reader estimate: long. Our experience: 1 minute, 11 seconds.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_traffic-lighttoned-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>The light at the intersection of Blackman Street and Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre. Reader estimate: long. Our experience: 1 minute, 11 seconds.</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_20161201_150046-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The traffic light at River Street coming off Exit 3 of the Cross Valley Expressway in Plains Township. Reader estimate: long. Our experience: 2 minutes, 14 seconds. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_20161201_150046-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>The traffic light at River Street coming off Exit 3 of the Cross Valley Expressway in Plains Township. Reader estimate: long. Our experience: 2 minutes, 14 seconds. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_nu-traffic-light-2.jpg">
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Brigid Edmunds</p><p>bedmunds@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Brigid Edmunds at 570-445-0063 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Red alert: tracking those long lights in Greater Wilkes-Barre