Are their rules to building a traffic light signal?

Question

How far apart should a traffic light be from one another? Are there rules for this? I live in San Diego, California.

Answer 1

http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/

This link is to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

It is a book that is published by the Federal Highway Administration and it dictated everything that state, local and federal agencies have to do when regulating traffic.  Your answer is in here - it is uniform from state to state.

Answer 2

A good rule in San Diego is not to allow a defense contractor to manipulate the yellow lights to run short where they put red light cameras.

When not manipulated by defense contractors in collusion with cities such as San Diego, traffic lights have a US standard that must be followed.  nhtsa is a good start to find out.