Cardiff – City of Lights?

I’ve often wondered why the traffic lights in Cardiff are so poorly synchronised that more time is spent at a stand than on the move but I think I now know the reason: there’re so many of the damned things!
On my regular route into work there are 20 sets (including 3 pedestrian crossings) in the last 3 miles, 8 of those in the last mile. Are they satisfied with that? Are they hell! Another 2 sets in the last half mile are ready to be commissioned.
From sighting the first set there’s only one short section, where there’s a bend immediately after one set, where I can’t see any. Am I alone in thinking this is a bit excessive?
I’m also sure some of them are set to deliberately annoy road users. You can be approaching some on green which will change just in time so you cannot get through before they’re red with nothing else around, then they’ll change back just as something approaches from the other direction and just it time to stop that poor sod. This situation, I’m sure, can and should be improved.
It’s these observations that lead me to conclude that Cardiff should be nominated as “The City of Lights”.