On my courier runs in SF, holding roughly 13 mph down Valencia lets me surf nearly every green around 5:30 p.m. What’s the green-wave sweet spot in your city, and which corridor delivers during the crunch?
In Chicago, I catch nearly every green on Milwaukee Ave northbound from Grand to Division holding about 14 mph around 5:30–6; southbound slips after 6 as timing drifts. I pace off the ped countdown — when it hits 7, punch it and hold about 14, which feels close to your ‘13 mph’ wave, like a bike-length conveyor belt.
Folsom eastbound from 11th to 4th around 5:20–5:50 runs smooth at about 12–13 mph; the trick is to ease up 2–3 seconds off the first green so you slot into the platoon instead of outrunning it. @dgarci53 it drifts after 6 when bus priority kicks in — same deal on Milwaukee?
Seattle’s 2nd Ave PBL flows from Pike to Yesler if you sit just shy of 17 mph; if you hit a stale green, back off a beat and tuck into the ‘platoon’ behind the first bus, then it feels like a moving sidewalk. It falls apart when the ferry unloads — anyone else see the wave shift a block during Mariners nights?
Portland: N Williams from Skidmore to Russell stays green if I sit just under 16 mph in the evening rush; the move is to roll a half-beat after the first car at Skidmore so you tuck into the flow and the offsets click. PBOT even posts signal notes at https://www.portland.gov/transportation/traffic-signals — anyone got a read on Vancouver northbound?
Market eastbound from Van Ness to 2nd clicks if you hold just under 15.5 mph; I do @leobake’s move of pausing a heartbeat on the first green to lock into the pack — like catching a moving escalator — though a bunched Muni can bust it. Anyone got a dialed speed for Polk northbound?
Chicago’s Milwaukee from Erie to Damen stays green if I hold about 14.5 mph around 5:30; I watch the crosswalk countdowns and dip to about 12 when they hit 6–7, then ramp back up. North of Damen it falls apart unless you’re closer to 16, which, , gets spicy with left hooks. @chalewi, that ‘just under’ pacing still works for me on rush Fridays.
Seattle: 2nd Ave PBL from Pike to Yesler syncs at about 12–13 mph around 5:10; I leave a half-beat after the lead car and key off the bike signal countdown, but I scrub a touch at Columbia for buses peeling right. @christopher92, do you still delay the launch when the platoon thins out?