If traffic lights are causing you a frustrating, stop-start daily commute, you're not alone.

Gold Coast Uber driver Grant Nolan has become all too familiar with the hot — and not — spots for traffic lights in the south-east Queensland city.

After 20,000 trips of driving the public around, he has, like the rest of us, tried to dodge the dreaded run of red lights where possible.

According to Mr Nolan, it's an art.

"I'll go for a route that has more roundabouts, or a route that has no traffic lights at all, because they are unpredictable," he said.

"The fact is it's quicker to go further around."

When driving someone to the airport from the northern Gold Coast, Mr Nolan opts for the Ferry Road or Bermuda Street route — a longer distance than the more direct route along the Gold Coast Highway — all in an effort to avoid traffic lights.

Uber driver Grant Nolan says getting around the Gold Coast quickly is definitely "an art". ( Supplied: Grant Nolan )

Gold Coast resident Gunther Pfitzer asked Curious Gold Coast how the traffic lights were coordinated.

The Gold Coast traffic lights are jointly coordinated by the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and City of Gold Coast (CGC) from a Traffic Management Centre in Nerang.

Collectively, TMR and the Council own about 600 traffic signals across the state's south coast region, including the Gold Coast, Logan and the Scenic Rim.

How they work

Activating those green, amber and red lights uses a single integrated traffic signal software known as STREAMS.

The components are all connected to communicate with each other, and, using data collected from things like pedestrian push buttons and signal boxes, determine what traffic signal phases and cycles should be used.

A TMR spokesperson said the duration of traffic-light cycles were between 50 and 150 seconds, which could vary depending on the location and time of day.

"STREAMS is also used for other traffic coordination, including motorway management, via variable-speed-limit and variable-message signs, ramp-signal management and incident management," the spokesperson said.

Driving with the light rail

The integration of the light rail system can cause lengthy delays in some parts of the Gold Coast. ( ABC: Richard Johnson )

The introduction of light rail on the Gold Coast has changed the flow and conditions of traffic and increased the number of traffic lights.

"It's more so where the tram lines cross that tends to be a problem, rather than running with it," Mr Nolan said.

He said it could be a slow run through Surfers Paradise.

The TMR spokesperson said light rail was given priority, meaning a, "fully optimised and coordinated route is not possible for roads near the light rail corridor".

"This is similar to what happens along a heavy rail corridor where motorists are stopped for trains at open level crossings," the spokesperson said.

"CGC controls the timing of the traffic signals along the light-rail route between Griffith University and Broadbeach South light rail stations.

"We work with CGC to continually review and adjust major traffic routes throughout the Gold Coast to ensure all corridors are managed as efficiently as possible."

Another problem identified by Mr Nolan is the traffic signals around the Gold Coast University Hospital.

He said it was easy to get stuck in three or four cycles of traffic lights, and if you got caught in the queue, there was nowhere to go.

"You can literally be stuck at one intersection for 10 minutes," Mr Nolan said.

"The biggest problem is the hospital, which has always amused me, because you think if anybody's in a hurry and really needs traffic lights to change quickly, and a good process, it's somebody [that] needs to get to the hospital in a hurry."

Ambulance priority

Sometimes a red light could mean the difference between life and death, so there is a system in place for those travelling in emergency vehicles.

"We also use STREAMS to control the Emergency Vehicle Priority [EVP] function," the TMR spokesperson said.

Ambulance vehicles have the ability to use the Emergency Vehicle Priority function. ( ABC Gold Coast: Solua Middleton )

"This award-winning technology enables emergency vehicles to automatically trigger green lights along the most direct route when responding to emergencies.

"EVP-equipped vehicles on the Gold Coast have shown travel time reductions by up to 26 per cent."

The spokesperson said, to minimise delays, traffic lights at intersections are coordinated across the day and into the night.

"Traffic signal coordination [green wave] gives priority to the main major traffic flow direction during weekday morning and afternoon peaks.

"During other times, such as the middle of the night, signals operate in isolated mode.

"This mode is typically used for low-traffic times to reduce delays for side streets."

Whether the technology can keep pace with the city's growth remains to be seen, but Mr Nolan is hopeful.

"I don't think the foundations are set, but … a better-managed traffic-light system for the Gold Coast would be able to sustain that growth," he said.

You can learn more about traffic signals information through the Department of Traffic and Main Roads website.