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The Maryland Curiosity Bureau

Why can’t Baltimore synchronize its traffic lights?

Traffic lights at the intersection of 23rd and Maryland Avenue (Photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Traffic lights at the intersection of 23rd and Maryland Avenue (Photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

This week, a listener asks why Baltimore’s traffic-light network seems so poorly organized, so we talk with the engineers behind the system. And Aaron does an experiment to calculate how much time we spend waiting at red lights.

This episode, we hear from:

William Haynes, Chief of the Traffic Division at Baltimore’s Department of Transportation

Frank Murphy, Senior Advisor with Baltimore’s Department of Transportation

William Haynes (left) and Frank Murphy (right) coordinate Baltimore's network of traffic lights (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
William Haynes (left) and Frank Murphy (right) coordinate Baltimore's network of traffic lights (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Baltimore Department of Transportation headquarters are in the Charles L Benton Building at 417 E Fayette St (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Baltimore Department of Transportation headquarters are in the Charles L Benton Building at 417 E Fayette St (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Aaron's driving log (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Aaron's driving log (photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.