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Signal history in your area

Started by traffic light guy, December 29, 2016, 10:12:33 PM

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traffic light guy


Philadelphia- In the 1930s/40s traffic signals were painted either green or blue, they were all pedestal mounted, around the Late-1950s, they switched the signal paint to yellow, and the city adopted signal brands such as Crouse-Hinds, Eagle, and Econolite. During the 1960s, the city began using 12-inch heads, however Philly was a late-bloomer when it came to mast-arms. Although the rest of Pennsylvania had already adopted the use of mast-arms during the Late-1960s, Philly didn't begin installing mast-arms until 1974. By the Summer of 1975, the entirety of Broad Street and Market Street were filled with new mast-arms, with 12-inch signal models including Crouse-Hinds Type Rs, Econolite bullseyes, and Eagle flatbacks, some setups also included DW/W pedestrian signals. 22 years later, in 1997 the first LEDs were installed, however, Red was the only available technology, every setup in the city had a red LED by 2000. The DW/W pedestrian signals were being phased out in the mid-2000s, and replaced with the LED hand/man symbol. Only new installations had all three LEDs at the time. In 2009, all the 1975 installations were rapidly getting replaced by new stuff. The new mast-arms were black instead of gray. Despite the 2009, replacements , there were some new installs from the 1990s, that included Eagle Mark IVs. However, at the farthest tip of Broad Street there a still of few sets of the old 1975 mast-arm installs still operating. In 2010, the city went 100% LED, by replacing all the incandescent modeules in old setups, even the 1997 LEDs got replaced. In 2014, the city wiped out even more of their older installs, and the city is planning to phase out all of their obsolete equipment within the next few years.


SignBridge

In my native Nassau County, N.Y. on Long Island, diagonal span pretty much is the rule with a mix of 8 and 12 inch signals.  They are installed by either Nassau County DPW or New York State DOT on State roads. Years ago it was all span-wire but starting in the 1970's Nassau started using diagonally positioned mast-arms except for wide intersections. Now that longer mast-arms are available using Nassau's standard curved style arm, Nassau is converting to them almost everywhere except the widest intersections. NYSDOT is also increasingly using mast-arms, also with diagonal placement.

Though I am not a fan of diagonal-span, it does create some very interesting configuration arrangements often using a mix of 8 and 12 inch heads.

Also worth noting is that traffic signals in neighboring Suffolk County are very similar to Nassau. 

23skidoo

Quote from: SignBridge on December 31, 2016, 08:31:54 PM
In my native Nassau County, N.Y. on Long Island, diagonal span pretty much is the rule with a mix of 8 and 12 inch signals.  They are installed by either Nassau County DPW or New York State DOT on State roads. Years ago it was all span-wire but starting in the 1970's Nassau started using diagonally positioned mast-arms except for wide intersections. Now that longer mast-arms are available using Nassau's standard curved style arm, Nassau is converting to them almost everywhere except the widest intersections. NYSDOT is also increasingly using mast-arms, also with diagonal placement.

Though I am not a fan of diagonal-span, it does create some very interesting configuration arrangements often using a mix of 8 and 12 inch heads.

Also worth noting is that traffic signals in neighboring Suffolk County are very similar to Nassau.

As a big fan of diagonal span, that is interesting. Is New York the only state that is still using them? We have a lot of diagonal wire span installations in Michigan, but MDOT recently discontinued that practice in favor of box spans. :-(

frankenroad

Cincinnati still has a lot of horizontal signals left.   It seems that when intersections are re-signalized, they are going to vertical signals, but I'd say that a good 30% or so are still horizontal.   
2di's clinched: 44, 66, 68, 71, 72, 74, 78, 83, 84(east), 86(east), 88(east), 96

Highways I've lived on M-43, M-185, US-127

jeffandnicole

Quote from: 23skidoo on January 13, 2017, 11:25:38 AM
Quote from: SignBridge on December 31, 2016, 08:31:54 PM
In my native Nassau County, N.Y. on Long Island, diagonal span pretty much is the rule with a mix of 8 and 12 inch signals.  They are installed by either Nassau County DPW or New York State DOT on State roads. Years ago it was all span-wire but starting in the 1970's Nassau started using diagonally positioned mast-arms except for wide intersections. Now that longer mast-arms are available using Nassau's standard curved style arm, Nassau is converting to them almost everywhere except the widest intersections. NYSDOT is also increasingly using mast-arms, also with diagonal placement.

Though I am not a fan of diagonal-span, it does create some very interesting configuration arrangements often using a mix of 8 and 12 inch heads.

Also worth noting is that traffic signals in neighboring Suffolk County are very similar to Nassau.

As a big fan of diagonal span, that is interesting. Is New York the only state that is still using them? We have a lot of diagonal wire span installations in Michigan, but MDOT recently discontinued that practice in favor of box spans. :-(

I'm surprised they're using spans whatsoever.  Many (most) states that traditionally used spans are converting to mast arms.

Delaware's been doing that for a few years now, although many of them are overly thick and bulky, which tends to lead to a distracting, unsightly look.

M3019C LPS20

#5
I originally grew up in New York City, so I conducted extensive research on the city's history of traffic control for a time. It finally led to publish a book regarding the subject matter in 2015. So, here's a timeline.

At the turn of the 20th century, traffic control in New York City was not yet fully developed, and the only form of it that existed at the time was a police officer. The NYPD oversaw the city's traffic system, so police officers directed traffic where necessary with hand gestures and whistle blows.

1915 saw the first signal device to be implemented by the NYPD in New York City. A simple pole with four semaphores were present. Two in red read "STOP," while the other pair in green read "GO." A police officer at the middle of an intersection manually rotated the pole to move the signs. He controlled traffic to his discretion.

Two years after the introduction of the semaphore, in 1917, the first traffic signal in New York City with illuminated lenses made its debut. Like a lighthouse beacon, a motorized lamp inside rotated to illuminate shades of red and green at certain intervals to control movements of traffic at a four-way intersection. Foster Milliken, and engineer of the time, designed it, and the NYPD tested his creation at 57th St. and 5th Av. in Manhattan. Little else is known about this device, as it is not mentioned anywhere else in NYC traffic control literature. That said, it can be assumed the traffic signal was short-lived and proved not to be favorable among the folks of the NYPD.

March, 1920 changed New York City traffic forever, when the first traffic towers were installed along a stretch of a 5th Av. in Manhattan. The first one of its kind was erected and switched on at 42nd St. and 5th Av. The wooden towers housed NYPD police officers, and a trio of signal indications shone at motorists. These devices of the time were designed and paid for by Dr. John Harriss, then NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Traffic. People loved them, and the traffic towers spread throughout most of New York by the mid-1920s.

By the end of the 1920s, traffic towers were eventually deemed obsolete and had pros and cons. They also were costly to maintain, so the NYPD had to address the issue. Thus, the introduction of modern traffic signal units. The first one, manufactured by General Electric appeared in 1924 in Manhattan. Several others were installed mainly on Broadway, and all of them were controlled by mechanical controllers that did not require the supervision of police officers. The new concept of the time was well liked by the NYPD that new traffic signal units were to replace the doomed traffic towers that were no longer glorious. 1925 traffic control regulations nationwide adopted red as stop, amber as caution, and green as go. Cities, like New York, prior to this declaration had confusing definitions of the three colors. In New York, red typically indicated danger, as in the sense that all four directions of traffic had to stop to allow emergency vehicles to travel through an intersection. It also indicated the change of signals, as one direction of traffic prepared to proceed, while the other direction of traffic prepared to stop. Amber meant one direction of traffic had the right-of-way, while green indicated the total opposite.

After 1925, New York City implemented two-color (red and green) stoplights at intersections for two primary reasons. Two-color units from manufacturers were cheaper in price than three-color units, and people of the time didn't fully understand the new defintion of amber, as it proved too dangerous among motorists in the eyes of the NYPD. Thus, in 1929, the NYPD officially "abandoned" the amber indication. The new form of caution among two-color stoplights of the time was known as a dark-out period. From green to red, a dark-out period lasted at least three-seconds prior to when red illuminated.

The traffic signals of the time were painted black and were produced mainly by General Electric, Ruelta, and Horni.

New York City's first pedestrian signal device appeared in February, 1934. It was designed by Dr. John Harriss, and pedestrian traffic was an issue of the time that seemed neglected by the NYPD. It was the approval of the NYPD that led to the first test of John's device on 5th Av. Between 40th St. and 45th St. The device had red and green indications that controlled vehicular traffic. Four main phases were involved that all happened in a matter of 120 seconds. In the 1st phase, 5th Av. traffic had the right-of-way, while crosstown traffic waited. After the end of the 1st phase, a red palm illuminated to indicate to drivers to come to a full stop. Harriss believed the illuminated palm was a better indicator to traffic than a simple red indication. During the 2nd phase, the palm remained illuminated with now an illuminated amber light. Amber meant pedestrians had the right-of-way. A Barnes Dance movement of the time. The amber indication then went dark, while the palm remained illuminated. Pedestrians had to finish to cross to the other side before the 4th phase of traffic (crosstown) began. All in all, while the device appeared impressive, the NYPD didn't like Harriss' creation, as it was not an easy device to understand.

6 years after the first test of Harriss' device, the NYPD designed its own pedestrian signal that is similar, in concept, to a modern day pedestrian signal. In 1940, NYPD commissioner Lewis Valentine installed four units at W. 45th St. and Times Square in Manhattan and ordered 11 additional units to be installed elsewhere in New York City that had high rates of pedestrian accidents.
The design was simple. A box contained a movable sign that had two messages. "STOP" and "WALK." The device was wired to a traffic signal, so during the green phase, "WALK" appeared illuminated. During the dark-out period, the sign moved. And it then displayed "STOP" to pedestrians during the red phase. This mechanical pedestrian signal was short-lived and did not meet the expectations of the NYPD.

Two-color stops remained the norm in New York City in the 1940s, and, during WW 2, the NYPD implemented signal masks. The idea was that a little light from each indication was to shine, but not too much to prevent air raids from foreign enemies. A small part of the city blackout period in WW 2.

Post-war era saw changes in New York City traffic control. In 1950, the NYPD stepped down, and the Department of Traffic was established. Improvements were necessary in New York City's traffic system, as signal equipment was aging and standards of the time were outdated. In the 1952, the amber indication was revived, and new three-color traffic signals were to replace two-color traffic signals in the years to come. It was also in this year that New York City's first "DONT WALK" units made their debut in Times Square, which led to a first massive spread citywide by 1955. In the years after 1955, traffic control slowly, yet gradually changed in New York City, and two-color stoplights were few and far between by the 1970s. The last units of their kind remained until 2006 in Queens, New York. The elimination took a remarkable 54 years to complete.

In 1962, Henry Barnes, then newly-elected traffic commissioner of New York City declared all traffic signals to be repainted from black and dark olive green (first adopted in the 1950s) to safety yellow. The citywide process was completed by the late-1960s.

By 1977, Department of Traffic then became Department of Transportation as it is still known today.


LED technology in traffic signals was introduced to New York City in 1997. The first LED inserts were placed in red indications throughout Queens, New York. Red was the only indication produced at the time, as amber and green were not yet developed. After an experimentation that lasted until 2000, the Department of Transportation came to the decision to do a citywide LED conversion, which took full force by 2001. It was at this time as well that "DONT WALK" and "WALK" were to be replaced by the two international symbols. The hand and the man. The citywide conversion process took four years to complete.



SignBridge

Very interesting history. One minor correction if I may re: Traffic Commissioner Henry Barnes. I don't believe that job was ever an elected position in NYC. He was hired/appointed by the city government as were all other traffic commissioners in modern NYC history.

thenetwork

The only thing I can contribute from the Cleveland area when I was growing up was that Cleveland and other area municipalities were not necessarily true to a single brand of signals at least up into the 70s. 

Although Cleveland proper did seem to be more uniform with one or two styles each decade prior to the 90s, most suburbs would have a mish-mash of different brands and types.  It wasn't until the late 80s and early 90s when cities would do a mass-upgrade of all of their signals that the uniqueness of some older signals were being taken down.

jakeroot

Quote from: M3019C LPS20 on January 17, 2017, 12:43:37 AM
After an experimentation that lasted until 2000, the Department of Transportation came to the decision to do a citywide LED conversion, which took full force by 2001. It was at this time as well that "DONT WALK" and "WALK" were to be replaced by the two international symbols. The hand and the man.

I believe the "international" walk/don't walk symbols are red and green figures. White figure/red hand are US/Canada (Mexico uses red/green figure).

Big John

^^ The hand is actually orange in the US/Canada

epzik8

Around Baltimore, but not actually in it, I can't think of any mast-arms that predate 1990. There's a mast-arm on Route 24 in Bel Air that was installed in 1990, but then there's a pair of hanging wire ones or whatever those ones are called that were placed around 1993 and 1996, respectively. The two oldest signals from this portion of Route 24's fall 1987 opening are this type. Further up Route 24 in the area of Forest Hill, the only wire signal is at the Route 23 intersection and was installed in the early 1970s when that alignment of Route 23 opened. Then there's a mast arm from 1990-ish, one from late 1996 or early 1997, a pair installed in 1998, and the most recent one installed in 2007.
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

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My clinched counties: http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/epzik8.gif

jakeroot

Quote from: Big John on January 17, 2017, 10:22:41 PM
^^ The hand is actually orange in the US/Canada

I know, but it looks red to me, and most people call it the "red hand", so that's the terminology I use.

M3019C LPS20

Quote from: jakeroot on January 17, 2017, 10:10:25 PM
Quote from: M3019C LPS20 on January 17, 2017, 12:43:37 AM
After an experimentation that lasted until 2000, the Department of Transportation came to the decision to do a citywide LED conversion, which took full force by 2001. It was at this time as well that "DONT WALK" and "WALK" were to be replaced by the two international symbols. The hand and the man.

I believe the "international" walk/don't walk symbols are red and green figures. White figure/red hand are US/Canada (Mexico uses red/green figure).

The hand and man are international symbols that are understood by all across the world regardless of color.

M3019C LPS20

Quote from: SignBridge on January 17, 2017, 08:26:03 PM
Very interesting history. One minor correction if I may re: Traffic Commissioner Henry Barnes. I don't believe that job was ever an elected position in NYC. He was hired/appointed by the city government as were all other traffic commissioners in modern NYC history.

Yes, that is correct. It was a bit late as I wrote the post, and, of course, my mind slipped elsewhere when I wrote that one fragment.

jakeroot

Quote from: M3019C LPS20 on January 18, 2017, 12:56:20 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 17, 2017, 10:10:25 PM
Quote from: M3019C LPS20 on January 17, 2017, 12:43:37 AM
After an experimentation that lasted until 2000, the Department of Transportation came to the decision to do a citywide LED conversion, which took full force by 2001. It was at this time as well that "DONT WALK" and "WALK" were to be replaced by the two international symbols. The hand and the man.

I believe the "international" walk/don't walk symbols are red and green figures. White figure/red hand are US/Canada (Mexico uses red/green figure).

The hand and man are international symbols that are understood by all across the world regardless of color.

What I'm implying is that they're not Vienna-recognized. They may be internationally understood, but they're not what most countries use to symbolize walk/don't walk.

If I were re-wording your post, I would have said "It was at this time as well that "DONT WALK" and "WALK" were to be replaced by the two internationally understood symbols. The hand and the man."

The only reason that I bring this up is because I believe it's a fallacy to view the white figure/orange hand as a legitimate international symbol. The only two countries that use the symbols are the US and Canada, and both have a combined population less than half that of China (who uses the Vienna red/green figure).

M3019C LPS20

The Canadian and American symbols sometimes are considered as "international" by those in the field, and the word is sometimes mentioned in ITE literature, but I understand your point. Other countries adopted the complete figure of a person represented as "DONT WALK" instead of the hand.

jlwm

I'm basing a lot of this from photos, memories, and guesses based on the location of installations and when those intersections were built/rebuilt/widened based on aerial imagery and memory. It looks like the early signals in Houston were pole mounted and horizontally oriented as many installations here are today. The oldest I've seen in photos from the 30s are CH Art Decos. CH Art Decos were used until the early 60s here. I guess the City of Houston was recycling or stockpiling those signals because I understood that production of them ended in the late 50s. Here's a late 40s installation that was replaced about 8 years ago: https://goo.gl/maps/uXid6Akc5mM2

Wire span installations appeared sometime around the 50s and mast arms around the late 50s/early 60s. They used a mix of CH Art Deco, CH breadpan, and Eagle signals through the late 50s and through the 70s. Ped signals were either 8" CH breadpan, 8" Eagle, or 8" Econolite WAIT/WALK or DON'T WALK/WALK. They were installed until the late 70s. Some installations in the 50s and 60s used 16" Econolite neon WAIT/WALK mostly downtown, or even rarer Wink-O-Matic 16" neon DON'T WALK/WALK ped signals. Around the late 70s, they started using Marbelite, Singer, and continued with Eagle and another manufacturer that I can't remember the name of right now, but it's whoever made this: https://goo.gl/maps/MCvRwhuxfpF2
In the late 70s, they started using 16" ICC neon DON'T WALK/WALK signals. In the 80s, a lot of installations used Safetran and Econolite signals. In the early 90s, McCain signals started appearing, DONT WALK/WALK ped signals were being phased out for the hand/man, and 12" heads were phased in around the mid 90s. In the late 00s, LEDs were becoming standard and few new installations by the City of Houston were wire span. By 2010, most of the old 8" signal head installations were gone. A few remain here and there. We have plenty of new signals on old hardware like these new-ish signals on a pole from 1960: https://goo.gl/maps/zvjRkDedZTD2
The oldest signals we have left here in the City of Houston proper are probably some old CH 12" signals out in Clear Lake from the late 60s or early 70s that have had LEDs retrofitted, which you can see here: https://goo.gl/maps/tgR3bH2pHfo.

busman_49

My hometown had mainly polycarbonate Kentron signals (8-inch, except for a couple of doghouses that were 8s with 12" arrows).  All were diagonal spans except for the one in the town square, which was a box span.  Early on, there was also a Crouse-Hinds D/DT 4-way and 3 Eagle 4-ways that I remember, plus a 4-way beacon that i have no idea who made it.  In the late 1990s, all of the signals on Main St. were replaced with 12" poly TCT/Peek heads on box-spans.  McCain and Econolite (all poly 12" signals) made their entry into town after that when all of the rest of the 8" Kentron signals were removed.  Without counting, I'd say there's a decent split between MCCain and TCT/Peek, with a couple of intersections of Econolites.  1 3/4 Kentron beacons still survive (one had a section replaced with a McCain section).  The only mast arm setup is south of town which, I believe, was a state job.

traffic light guy

#18
For the rest of Pennsylvania:

In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, setups were either span-wire or post-mounted. Signals were 8-inch Eagleluxes or Art Decos, sometime a CH Type M. 12-inch signals weren't used until the 1960s. Signals were also repainted yellow during the 1960s. However in 1968, Pennsylvania adopted the use of mast-arms, produced by poles-inc. They either used angled mast-arms, or staright ones, with a trapiziod shaped mounting plate, and stackable poles. These types of mast-arms were used from the Late-1960s until 1976. Signals during the 60s/70s were primarily 12' Eagle flatbacks. Signals in this era also had curved brackets. This is favorite era in signal history. If they weren't Eagles, then they were Econolite Bullseyes,  Crouse-Hinds Type Ms or Rs, but 3Ms were mostly used for left turns. In this era the first doghouses came into use, signals with arrows also came into play.
This era ended in 1977, when Durasig traffic signals started to be installed, and new types of mast-arms started being used, production ended on the diagnal mast-arms and the stackable ones in 1976. They stopped being installed in 1977. In the 1980s, Safetran and Durasig traffic signals were being used. Curved brackets stopped being used in the 1980s. In the 1990s, McCain and TCT traffic signals were being used, Durasig was still common. Around 2000, LEDs came into play, but they became common around 2005. In 2007 the state started to rapidly replace the 70s-era Eagle installs with modern equipment. Econolite traffic signals also started to become very common starting in 2010. The state never used the red arrow for new installs until about 2014. New types of mast-arms started being used, the mounting plate had six bolts, and the poles became very thick.



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