Sentinel staff report–
In recent years, the cities of Roseville and Elk Grove have been adding a new “flashing yellow” feature to traffic signals, allowing left turns where it traditionally would have been an illegal left-turn on red.
The new signals allow motorists to make a left turn when there is no oncoming traffic, rather than be required to wait for a green light.
While Citrus Heights has been upgrading various traffic signals throughout the city over the past few months with larger signals and reflective yellow borders, a city spokeswoman said this week that the city has no current plans to install flashing yellow turn signals, but left open the possibility in the future.
“We have no plans at this time, although it may be something we evaluate and/or consider as part of future projects,” City Communications Officer Nichole Baxter wrote in a brief email response on Tuesday.
Roseville installed its first flashing yellow arrow in 2016, at Industrial Avenue and Freedom Way, and later installed the signals at four more intersections last year.
“It’s a way that allows people to save time and save money by not waiting at a stop light when they don’t need to,” a Roseville spokeswoman told ABC 10 last year when the city announced it would be expanding the flashing arrows to more intersections.
On its website, the City of Roseville says the flashing arrows can reduce emissions up to 12% and also reduce traffic delays by up to 50%. The city said the cost of its latest signal conversion was “approximately $10,000,” but it is unclear whether that is a cost per intersection or the total cost of upgrades at four intersections.
Elk Grove added flashing yellow arrows at three intersections last year as part of a pilot program. The city said flashing arrows were identified in its 2019 “Traffic Congestion Management Plan” as a way to reduce delays and emissions.
Some controversy over the signals has arisen in various areas of the country where the flashing yellow turns have been added. Driver confusion over what to do at the new signals has been cited in various news reports, and some collisions have also been blamed on the lights.
In Minnesota, the Winona Post reported this week that the state’s Department of Transportation opted to discontinue a flashing yellow signal during daytime traffic hours, citing recurring left-turn crashes from motorists not yielding safely at one intersection. The flashing arrows will remain on after 7 p.m., through 7 a.m.
According to an article last year published by the Sacramento Bee, flashing yellow arrows have been in use for more than a decade in California. In nearby Nevada, the state’s Department of Transportation began installing the flashing yellow signals in 2010, followed by the installation of more than 150 of the signals three years later.
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