Why do traffic patterns at Wilmington intersections change day to day and throughout the day?
Caitlin Dineen  StarNews contributor  Q. This is really frustrating and dangerous. One intersection in particular, Shipyard Boulevard and 17th Street, changes regularly, which messes up commutes. A. Denys Vielkanowitz, Wilmington's city traffic engineer said, "traffic signal timing plans are designed and scheduled to address specific traffic volumes and patterns at each intersection during a given time of day. " Traffic volumes, patterns and predominant directions of travel can drastically change throughout the day which necessitates changing the timings and sequencing. "For example, many folks commute in one direction to work in the morning (northbound 17th Street at Shipyard Boulevard), then commute in the opposite direction in the evening (southbound 17th Street at Shipyard Boulevard)," said Vielkanowitz. Changing the timing at one intersection invariably requires changing the timing at the adjacent intersections too due to the interaction with each other because the timing plans also try to provide traffic progression through multiple adjacent traffic signals along a roadway. "This basically means that the traffic signal timing plans change to meet the anticipated demand and best match the volume of traffic around Wilmington," he said.