We Looked Into the Traffic Light at Ryodocho Intersection by Konami【Nishitsu Detective】

A corner where Nishitsu writers investigate Nishinomiya mysteries and questions and turn them into articles: “Nishitsu Detective”

This time, the request comes from “Bito-san.”
The request is about the intersection of the Imazu Nishi Line and Route 606 in Ryodocho, by the Konami Annex gym. They often walk through this intersection, but no matter how many times they use it, they can’t quite figure out when the light turns green. They think there must be some kind of pattern, and asked us to find out rules like, “when this light turns red, which one turns green next?”

(Bito-san, thank you for the tip!)

Here it is on the map↓

Route 606 branches off from the Imazu Nishi Line right at this intersection, so we’ll refer to the east-west road as the Kyujo-mae Line and the north-south road as the Imazu Nishi Line.

Kyujo-mae Line (East-West)

If you go this way, you’ll find places like Higashigawa Shinsui Naka Park and Nakasusa Park.

If you go in the opposite direction, you’ll find the Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Nishinomiya Gardens, and more.

Imazu Nishi Line (North-South)

If you go this way, you’ll cross the Hankyu Kobe Line and reach Route 171, where Volks is located.

If you go in the opposite direction, you’ll reach the Yamate Kansen road, where Life is located.

The Traffic Light Pattern at “Ryodocho Intersection”

1. The light blue arrows turn green
2. The purple arrows turn green
3. The green arrows and black arrows turn green
4. The green arrows (straight and left turn) and orange arrows turn green (the black arrows stay green)

We found that this 1-to-4 cycle repeats.

Traffic Light Waiting Times

We measured the time from when the light turned red until it turned green.

*Times may vary depending on the time of day. (Measured around 1 p.m. on a weekday)

Apparently, the standard range is 50 seconds to 2 minutes 20 seconds, and the timing is set based on traffic volume.

Why Is the Traffic Light Pattern So Irregular?

From here on, this is speculation.
Because the Kyujo-mae Line, which runs east-west, is not straight, vehicles going straight and vehicles turning right or left end up crossing each other’s paths, so I think the lights are split one side at a time↓↓

Also, there is a railroad crossing near Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station on the north side of the intersection, so I think it may also be designed to reduce the number of cars as much as possible.The crossing gates stay down for as long as about 1 minute and 30 seconds. (Since the next train comes right away, they are effectively down for more than 2 minutes.)

In Closing

Since Yamate Kansen is on the south side, there aren’t many cars traveling east-west, but heading north-south gives access to Route 171 and Route 2, so plenty of people probably use it. If there are any other intersections you’re curious about, let us know and Nishitsu will do our best to figure them out.

*Bito-san, thank you for the tip!!
■■■We’re looking for tips!■■■