Council Member Krasher introduced the following:

Ordinance Number
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 45.92.14 ENTITLED AN
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 359 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE XIV REGARDING
A TRAFFIC-CONTROL SIGNAL PHOTO VIOLATION-MONITORING SYSTEM
The City of Albany, in Common Council convened, does hereby ordain and enact:
Section 1. Paragraph U of Section 359-138 of Ordinance Number 45.92.14 shall be
amended to read as follows:
U. Wherever a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring device is installed, a five
second yellow signal shall be mandatory at that intersection. Each such intersection shall be
monitored on a monthly basis to confirm that the signal is not malfunctioning and that the yellow
light remains at 5 seconds. It shall be a defense to any prosecution for a violation of Subdivision
(d) of 1111 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law pursuant to this section that such traffic-control
indications were malfunctioning at the time of the alleged violation.
Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect immediately.
APPROVED AS TO FORM ONLY
, 2014

____________________________
Corporation Counsel

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TO:

Nala Woodard, City Clerk

FROM:

Judd Krasher, Council Member

DATE:

November 13, 2014

TITLE:
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 45.92.14 ENTITLED AN
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 359 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE XIV REGARDING
A TRAFFIC-CONTROL SIGNAL PHOTO VIOLATION-MONITORING SYSTEM
GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION: The purpose of this legislation is to create
uniform yellow light timing at all intersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation
monitoring system exists.
NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION: As part of the City of Albanys ongoing efforts to
improve traffic safety, yellow light camera timing is a crucial component of the strategy.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) takes into account numerous variables in
determining yellow light duration including driver perception, comfortable deceleration, width of
the intersection and the physical slope of the road where an intersection exists.1
The ITEs equation is meant to help motorists avoid what they deem as the dilemma zone.2
ITE defines the dilemma zone as, the gray region where the drivers decision cannot be reliably
predicted.3 In other words, it is the time at which a motorist is unsure whether to make an abrupt
stop at a yellow light or continue traveling and risk running a red light.
ITE also affirms that, Signal retiming is the most cost-effective technique to reduce congestion,
improve air quality and potentially reduce accidents; past projects have demonstrated benefit-tocost ratios of 40:1 or more.4
The American Automobile Association (AAA) agrees that ITEs yellow light duration formula
should be implemented. In a report submitted to the Albany Common Council by AAA, the
organization recommends Albany to ensure traffic signals comply with all applicable
engineering principles and ITE standards including minimum yellow light intervals.

Butler, Jack. Another View On Vehicle Change Intervals. ITE. March 1983.
http://ite.org/membersonly/itejournal/pdf/JCA83A44.pdf
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Institute of Traffic Engineers. Benefits of Retiming Traffic Signals. 2005.
http://www.ite.org/councils/RetimingTrafficSignalsweb.pdf

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In a study conducted by Bonneson and Zimmerman (2003) several conclusions were drawn,
including the following:
1.In general, an increase of 0.5 to 1.5 s in yellow duration (such that it does not exceed 5.5 s)
will decrease the frequency of red-light-running by about 50 percent.
2. There may be some additional benefit to having a yellow interval that is slightly longer than
that computed using Equation 1 (but does not exceed 5.5 s). It is likely that the drivers
benefitting from this extra yellow are those that have an exceptionally long reaction time,
speeds in excess of the 85th percentile speed, or low toleration for high deceleration rates.5
A five second yellow light time will give motorists further away from an intersection enough
time to stop safety and allow motorists who are close to an intersection to avoid the above
mentioned dilemma zone.
Furthermore, the rationale for a five second yellow time is an explicit recognition that many
drivers in the City of Albany, unfortunately, travel at rates significantly above the posted speed
limits. In order to maximize the positive impact of yellow light timing, we are compelled to deal
with the current reality that a number of individuals choose not to obey posted speed limits.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.

Bonneson, James et.al. Effect of Yellow Interval Timing on

Red-Light Violation Frequency at Urban Intersections. Texas A & M University. 2003.
http://www.motorists.org/red-light-cameras/TRB2004-1228.pdf

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