Every day on my way back from work I stop at this one intersection with Middlesex Turnpike. And usually, I get stuck there for 2-3 changes of lights before my light turns green. This is because lights for the side road I take are controlled by an induction loop buried under the road. I am pretty sure that most motorists don't even think about it but for us, cyclists, such controlled lights are a big issue. Those induction loops are simply not sensitive enough to detect a small piece of metal such as bicycle, while being tuned for detecting cars. This way most of the time I end up waiting for some car to arrive and switch those lights for me. Unfortunately, there is no better way.
Meanwhile in Paris they introduced a pilot program allowing cyclists to cross certain intersections in the city on red. While I agree with what James wrote on his website that being courteous is more important than blindly obeying traffic laws, I don't know if I like this idea. Certainly this cannot be implemented everywhere leading to more confusion ("Am I allow to cross this intersection on red or not?"). Even though I have to wait longer for my green light, I wouldn't risk crossing that intersection on red. Middlesex Turnpike is a very busy road and I am not a daredevil.
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