We moved here from Atlanta about four years ago and I noticed the traffic light issue right away. Atlanta has the country's worst traffic, but the lights work great. Here's why... an intersection simply needs to set to let the two opposing left turn lanes go through first. Then the rest of the folks traveling straight through go next. This works because there are always less people turning left and then the straight through crowd can keep moving through longer. Once this is in place, then you time the lights on a given stretch (say College Road) so that when the light at one point turns yellow the light just down from it turns yellow a minute or so later and so and so on. This keeps things moving. It's not brain surgery people!! Hey, city planners, I'll do it for 1.25!