I have heard about those magnets too. I have also heard about ifrared remote controls for those that detect flashing lights. I have seen these sensors on the arms of the traffic lights, and am tempted to take out my IR televsion controller. I was also wondering if flashing a lazer pointer at them would work. There are no cameras in Orillia (yet) so I doubt I would be caught on film.

The discussion linked to in the previous post suggests that if the light does not turn green it should be considered defective and you can treat it like a stop sign. I do not know what the law is in Ontario though and whether anyone has tested this. To the best of my knowledge these things can be adjusted.

I remember when I used to ride a motorcycle, there was one problematic on the way home that would not trigger by my motorbike. I would wait for a couple of minutes and them run it, I had no choice.

Maybe you can trigger one using a dust bin.

http://www.youtube.co...

Sorry the embed code does not seem to be working. I think they might have changed something at YouTube.

I ride to be safe. Legal e-bikes are limited in distance and speed. At the end of the day, you want to get home all in one piece. If the light ain't changin' because of some bug in the system, then fack 'em - use your eyes and be safe!!

awake is best - cheers

Is this the same for those underground garage triggers? In my underground garage, my Motorino Xph isn't heavy enough to trigger the door, so I have to run outside and open it using the outside switch.

http://www.humantrans...
Above links to an article on pavement sensors, probably more information that you want to know. However the gist of the article is that these sensors can be adjusted to detect bicycles.

The question arises if these sensors are not adjusted so that bicycles trigger the signals, and the bicyclist runs the (stuck) red light, is the traffic light considered defective if a cyclist is charged with an offense, and what happens when a cyclist is struck while jumping the red, is the municipality liable because they know or should know that bicycles use the road too, as well as motorcycles, and they should have them triggered by all traffic.

Another system used to trigger traffic lights is the Opticom system. It apparently requires sensors on the traffic lights to a strobing emitter on the emergency vehicle, the lights then change green to the approaching vehicle only. I read in another article that Toronto does not use the Opticom system, so those YouTube videos saying you can change traffic lights with your IR remote control will not work in Toronto. The reason given was that there are too many emergency vehicles in Toronto to work properly.

Toronto doesn’t use the [Opticom] sensor system because it doesn’t make sense for a city congested with multiple types of emergency vehicles, according to Stephen Powell, district chief for Toronto Fire Services.

. Mississauga does have them on every traffic light.
source http://www.thestar.co...

Hi Barbara
sounds like you are on the Mississauga Line. Can I interest you in meeting at Huron Park for a ride together. I'm having trouble finding females in and around the area. I live just south of Square One.
I ride a lovely EcoRyder red Dragon.
regards Eleanor

Just stumbled onto this article:



Link

Little white dots lined up on the pavement at Toronto intersections are the only visible signs of an innovative but dismally implemented piece of bike infrastructure.

In 1995 the city began a project to install bike-sensitive loop sensors under the pavement at intersections to allow cyclists to trigger green lights. The idea is that if you roll your two-wheeler to a stop over the three dots, an extra-sensitive pad changes the light in front of you from red to green. The city began with 35 bike-sensitive pads in 1995 and since then all new car-detecting pads have been installed with the sensitivity to detect bikes as well.

The three dots work great. Park your tires over them and in a few seconds you’ll be peddling away. But the system has one fatal design flaw: the sensors only work if you tell people what they are. And because of a complete lack of signage, most bikers don’t even know they exist. In some places the dots appear to have worn off altogether. In others they've been torn up for maintenance and the only indication that the sensors might be there is a line of tar that leaves cyclists guessing.

The city’s only done half the job with this system, and what’s so stupid is they’ve done the difficult, expensive half. The easier and presumably cheaper half—erecting a sign or putting a marking on the pavement to indicate what the dots mean—remains undone. It's the kind of wasteful spending that makes Rob Ford red(der) in the face and compels Mike Del Grande shake his little piggy bank in rage.

Years ago city staff recommended implementing better signage for the sensors, but that doesn’t appear to have been acted on. The new bike plan Rob Ford released this week doesn’t even mention the three-dot system, so it looks like there will be no new bike sensors and the existing ones are destined to remain undetected and underused.

In theory the bike-sensing system is a coup for Toronto cyclists in both a practical and symbolic sense. The sensors make traffic flow more efficient and ensure red lights don’t cause impatient bikers to dash unsafely into traffic. In a nifty instance of civic connection, they also allow the city's infrastructure to literally feel the presence of bikers. Pretty neat. But it’s all useless without a bit of signage.