traffic signal actuators

[Becky]

Here is the response from MoDot:

"Thank you for contacting the Missouri Department of Transportation. The
traffic engineer informed me that, unfortunately, there is nothing we can
do to increase the sensitivity for bicycles. We encourage you to contact
us with any future questions or concerns regarding the maintenance of our
state roads."

I wonder if Delaware's traffic engineers went to the same school as Missouri's

[Eden]

You should both forward your respective DOT's the article Becky found!

[OakLeaf]

Trouble is, if it's a magnetic sensor vs. the new optical ones, and you don't have a steel frame, there truly is nothing they can do (short of spending the however many tens of thousands it would be to go to an optical sensor).

When I rode steel, I always found that a hand's breadth to the right of the oil slick would trigger the sensor 9 times out of 10. You don't want to be on the curb in traffic anyway

[Eden]

Trouble is, if it's a magnetic sensor vs. the new optical ones, and you don't have a steel frame, there truly is nothing they can do (short of spending the however many tens of thousands it would be to go to an optical sensor).

When I rode steel, I always found that a hand's breadth to the right of the oil slick would trigger the sensor 9 times out of 10. You don't want to be on the curb in traffic anyway

No traffic sensors *do not work by magnetism* - as the name implies - induction loop sensor, its inductance - like a metal detector, so they can detect many types of metals. In fact if you read the article that Becky posted the sensors should be better at detecting aluminum than steel. The only reason a car is easier to detect than a bike is the size of the vehicle. The sensitivity is adjustable and there seems to be no reason that a good traffic engineer should not be able to set them up to detect bicycles of all types - with perhaps the exception of a person riding a full carbon bike with carbon wheels, spokes and cranks.

I have no problems being detected around here with my carbon bike - I have aluminum rims and spokes. In fact the lights I tend to have trouble with are the optical ones as I am too small to be detected by the camera.....

[TrekTheKaty]

I sent an email back to MoDot and requested more info about the type of signal and received this:

"There are cameras out there which have several zones about half the size of
a vehicle centered in the vehicle lanes. (They should be able to see the
cameras up on the signal mast arm). The front grill on a vehicle is what is
most noticeable to the camera. Cyclists can try turning to increase their
visible surface area, make themselves as "wide" as possible. It may help.
Found this webpage that talks about how to trigger green lights but it
mostly talks about loops. They might find it helpful.

http://www.wikihow.com/Trigger-Green-Traffic-Lights"