The Least Favorite Traffic Signal in Town? Hard to Pick

The traffic signals near were -- not too surprisingly -- among the least favorite of Strongsville motorists in an .

Here are the top 3 named by readers:

1. Christina pointed to gridlock at the Howe-Royalton intersection in the evenings, when cars pull into the intersection rather than wait for a red light, blocking cross traffic.

"I'm not kidding when I say it took us 45 minutes to leave  this evening," she wrote.

Others complained about getting into Costco.

"Turning left off 82 to get to Costco is definitely the worst one I've experienced," one man said.

2. Waiting on Shurmer Road to turn left onto Howe Road was named by several drivers.

"It feels like you wait at least 5-10 minutes before the light finally changes!" Lisa wrote.

3. Driving north on Pearl and trying to turn left onto Royalton. The arrow only lets four cars through, Kathy complained.

KW agreed. "That is the shortest light in Strongsville."

Some others:

"Turning left on Pearl coming from the Turnpike. OMG...it is both the longest red light and shortest green light in the history of mankind!!" Lisa T. said.

"Try driving on West 130th and Whitney during rush hour! That area needs major help too!" Kelly said.

And Jeff said he gets frustrated waiting to turn left from Echo Drive onto Pearl Road, "especially when there is no traffic on Pearl during off hours."

J. wants a left-turn arrow for motorists on southbound Pearl Road turning at Cook Road.

"It can get so backed up with people turning left into and those waiting to turn left onto Cook."

The signal at northbound Prospect Road and Lunn Road also needs a left-turn arrow, said Elle.

"You could be there for 10 minutes or more!" she wrote.

Tom mentioned the signal on Howe Road at the mall entrance, where drivers sometimes line up the right lane -- which ends in a couple hundred feet -- and cut off the drivers in the through lane.

"This is easy to fix, block the right lane after the light so those in the right lane can only turn right into the mall," he suggested.

Also, the light at the bottom of the I-71 southbound exit ramp causes traffic to back up "all the way from the turnpike," Howard said.

Ward 2 Councilman Matt Schonhut said some of the signals are already being addressed, like the one at Shurmer and Howe.

He agreed that others should be considered, like the left-turn arrow at Cook and Pearl.

But he urged motorists to remember "the traffic signal system is very, very complex. One minor adjustment to a light's timing can change the way the entire rest of the system operates. So while some fixes may seem quick and easy, there is a possible negative domino effect on the whole system for just that one adjustment."