Take a Test Drive

View a video demonstration of how Continuous Flow Intersections work
(requires Macromedia's Flash player)

If you were in a car planning to make a left turn at a CFI intersection, this is how you might proceed:

Step one. You enter the left-turn bay and stop at the first signal (most drivers don’t realize that this location is different from a conventional intersection).

Step two. The signal at the end of the left-turn bay turns green shortly after the cross traffic at the main intersection gets a green light. You cross the oncoming traffic lanes and proceed up the CFI leg. The right-turn lane merging with oncoming traffic will be on your left and the oncoming lanes themselves will be on your right.

Step three. Shortly before you reach the end of the CFI leg at its intersection with the cross street, the cross traffic gets a red light. The signal at the end of the CFI leg turns green and you complete your left turn onto the cross street without having to stop.

The beauty of this arrangement is that the opposing traffic no longer has to be stopped to accommodate left-turning vehicles, eliminating a signal phase and increasing the amount of through traffic moving during green time.