ADA COUNTY, Idaho — As Ada County's population continues to boom, so does its traffic. Local residents are starting to take notice on the road.
Drivers, bikers, and pedestrians alike are starting to feel the weight of traffic congestion. UBER drivers like Perry Merkel experience it every day.
"I can’t deny, things that used to take X minutes now take X plus," Merkel said.
Markel has given more than 18,000 rides over the past 5 1/2 years. The increased traffic flow forced Merkel to learn shortcuts and avoid specific intersections in the Treasure Valley.
"All legally of course," Merkel said.
Ada County is home to 465 signalized intersections, according to Ada County Highway District (ACHD) Congestion Management Supervisor Mike Boydstun. ACHD uses industry standard formulas to time red and green light intervals.
Downtown Boise intersections are set to predetermined time intervals. So, when people like Jacob Peterson get caught at the same red light every morning, that is by design.
"I've been late to school a couple of times because of it," Peterson said.
Traveling on the same route at the same time from day-to-day will often give the same results, but not always.
Outside the city center, most intersections have sensors to align the light times with real-time traffic flow. It is all overseen by 220 traffic light cameras scattered across Ada County intersections.
"We could zoom in and tell you heads or tails on a coin," ACHD Traffic Management Center Specialist Wendi Tillman said. "I watch for any delays in traffic, debris in the roadway, or disabled vehicles - anything that will cause a slowdown in traffic. Then I get law enforcement in route, or if it’s a signal malfunction, I get our signal timing guys on it or the signal engineers on it and get it taken care of."
The traffic cameras do not record, and they are not used for any law enforcement purposes.
"That would be a full-time job if we tried to do that, because there are so many red-light runners in this area," Tillman said.
ACHD does not have complete control over every traffic light at every moment. Emergency vehicles, like an ambulance, can override the traffic light timing to ensure the vehicle hits green lights in an emergency situation.
This override can impact lights in a half-mile radius, according to Boydstun. If you are at an extra-long red light and near a hospital, this means there is a possibility your wait is a product of a prioritized emergency.
Overrides like this happen up to 65,000 times a month in Ada County, according to Boydstun.
"Once the emergency vehicle is through, then it goes back to a normal cycle," Tillman said. "It might take a few seconds but it will get back to a normal cycle."
It is a cycle that has garnered some criticism and for newcomers and transplants, it is all relative.
"Before this I lived in Oregon, so I’ve lived in places like Portland and Seattle," TJ Centanni said. "It’s a lot worse there,"
However, traffic is a shared experience and after all, we are all waiting at the same red lights beside UBER drivers like Merkel.
"Just be patient," Merkel said.
ACHD welcomes comments and concerns to best keep traffic flowing at (208) 387-6100. This includes information about traffic light malfunctions, missing or damaged signs and obstructed roads.
"By getting that input from the public, we’ve been able to get some intersections back to a more efficient operation by being able to fix the detection," Boydstun said.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: