In the last couple weeks, the city government added a few new traffic lights on Hughes. The new traffic lights, placed at the intersections of Gooch Lane, Bradford Farms Drive, and Plaza Boulevard and Hughes bring the five mile road’s total traffic light count to eight.

While the traffic lights are still brand new, many students have already taken a hostile stance towards them.

“It will definitely slow traffic down. It was obviously built for the neighborhoods that complained about traffic in the morning,” said Kevin Alves, a senior. The traffic lights have drawn heavy criticism because, to many, the lights seem to disrupt the natural movement of traffic, and many fear that the increased lights will bring the already clogged road to a standstill in the mornings.

“The goals of the new traffic signals is to provide safe entry from side streets onto Hughes Road. They are generally located far enough apart that traffic from one signal does not back up into another signal and 1000 feet is the preferred minimum distance. We do have some that are closer. Signals need to meet a warrant analysis that considers the relationship of traffic volumes for the main and side streets along with other factors such as accident history and pedestrian needs. There is always the concern that traffic on the main road will be unnecessarily impeded. The signal timing is set to get priority to the main street and provide a safe, but not necessarily convenient access to the main street,” said Gary Chynoweth, Madison’s City Engineer.

Until the last light, placed at Hughes and Gooch, is activated, the full effects of the new traffic lights are yet to be seen. If anything, please stay aware of the new lights.