To the editor:

As I drive around the city of Lawrence, I always wonder how much $2.25 per gallon gasoline, as well as time, is wasted by the stoplights that operate by time rather than traffic flow. On Tuesday, I was stopped with nine other cars going east at Sixth Street and Folks Road. There were eight cars stopped, going west. We waited for about 15 seconds with 18 engines idling and no traffic on Folks Road. Then the left-turn green arrows came on in each direction with no cars in either left-turn lane. After another 15 seconds, both green lights came on.

Turning left from the post office on 31st Street is such a wait – with little, if any, traffic on 31st – that you could get out of your car, walk over to Michael’s, buy something and walk back to your car in time to turn left. The intersection at Kasold and Bob Billings Parkway is wonderful because the lights are set for traffic flow. I would be the first one to chip in and pay my share to change and improve the timed traffic lights.

Chris Barteldes,

Lawrence