Commuters fume: Officials plan November return for all traffic signals Officials: It could be November before all traffic lights restored

With darkened intersections leading to traffic snarls on freeways and city streets, officials are searching for at least some relief by putting more officers on traffic-directing duty and reopening high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

Traffic signals at about 1,200 Houston area intersections were not yet working Tuesday but should all have at least a flashing red light by the end of next week, said Mike Marcotte, the city's director of public works and engineering.

"I've been amazed with the courtesy our drivers have been showing," Marcotte said. "Our biggest issue at this point is going out and making repairs on the signals as well as waiting for power to be restored."

Getting all the city's traffic lights functioning at pre-Hurricane Ike levels could take until November, Marcotte said.

In some cases, it is not just a matter of getting the power restored, but also repairing equipment pummeled by Ike's winds and rain, he said.

At least 90 percent of the city's 2,500 intersections with traffic lights sustained damage from the storm, according to the city.

The pressure is on as some motorists report that their daily commutes are taking twice as long, and even pedestrians say they're facing tougher times as they try to scramble and dodge their way across streets.

"More and more signals are being put in working condition every day, hour by hour almost," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, who convened a meeting of transportation officials Tuesday afternoon to seek solutions to the problems. "The flow in the community is getting better."

All across Houston, informal rules seem to take hold at various intersections where the power is out.

Generally, the first car to stop is the first one to proceed, but in other instances, it seemed to be the biggest vehicle went first, or the motorist most willing to risk a dent.

"For the most part, Houston is behaving extremely well," said Art Neely, who has driven a cab for 25 years.

Metro officials on Tuesday agreed to open high-occupancy vehicle lanes on U.S. 59 and U.S. 290 after traffic on many freeways came to a complete halt during the rush hour Monday, the first day many Houstonians went back to work after the storm. The Gulf Freeway HOV, however, remains closed indefinitely because of storm damage.

Safety is a top priority

Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert said officers will be used to manually open HOV access gates and perform other duties that are normally done electronically.

"They are in a very precarious position and we are concerned about their safety," he said of officers.

In an effort to keep those officers from being exposed during the dark hours, they'll be open from 6 to 11 a.m. and from 2 to 7 p.m.

Officials urged HOV users to reduce their speed and drive with caution.

The Tidwell and Will Clayton ramps along the Eastex Freeway HOV and the Pinemont Park and Ride lot entrance ramp to the Northwest Freeway HOV will remain closed because of outages.

As far as the city streets go, Assistant Houston Police Chief Dorothy Edwards said with many emergency needs now out of the way, more officers will be dedicated to directing traffic and related transit issues.

Officers will be put primarily at major intersections without working traffic lights, she said.

Even with the frustrations on the city's post-Ike congested roadways, police said they haven't noticed an upturn in the number of car accidents.

"We haven't been informed of any alarming numbers, which would indicate that the majority of motorists are abiding by the rules of the road," Houston Police spokesman John Cannon said.

Chronicle reporters Mike Glenn and Todd Ackerman contributed to this story.

dane.schiller@chron.com