Rather then adopting red lights cameras, a better solution would be to eliminate cross-intersections and transform Downtown Albany’s streets into a series of one-way streets with merge ramps, similar to the Uptown State Office Campus’s Ring Road.

Those of who you who are familiar with the Ring Road, note the lack of stoplights throughout the whole complex — despite servicing a major suburban office campus with massive parking lots. All access is done via the ring roads and a series of ramps that allow cars to turn around — all without stop signs or cross traffic. The ring-road is vastly safer and more efficient then stop-lights and traditional urban grids.

By eliminating wasteful and dangerous on-street parking, each street could be turned into a 3-lane one-way thoroughfare like the ring road. Major roads would be built on parallel blocks, with all traffic going one way or the other. There would be no cross traffic — all traffic would be prohibited crossing roads — only making right turns from roads, and occasional left turns onto “u”-turn ramps that allow traffic to turn around.

This progressive solution would speed traffic through the city, eliminating most serious head-on and t-bone collisions. While it would require a lot of traffic engineering, the long-term savings of reduced congestion and better traffic flow, would benefit all.