Origin of Mast-Arm mounted traffic signals

[WichitaRoads]

Pardon if this has been discussed before, but I will continue:

I was taking the long way home from church today, and stopped at what I believe to be Wichita's last permenant four-way head traffic signal installation on a span wire at Waterman and Hydraulic (http://goo.gl/maps/udn9P). If there are still others, I can't recall anymore. Anyway, it got me thinking - this was a pretty typical installation scenario for a long time. When did the use of mast-arms really take off? I've seen pics of two-light signals on mast-arms in NYC, but that seems to be really an exception of history.

When did they really take off? When and where was the first mast-arm installation that would be similar to the common modern use installed?

EDIT: I tend to think myself the 1960s in California... since I always seem images from TV shows at the time that have that typical Califonia mastarm with sun-visor look.

And as an aside, when was the first mast-arm used in Wichita? That may be a MUCH harder question to answer.

ICTRds

[NE2]

And as an aside, when was the first mast-arm used in Wichita? That may be a MUCH harder question to answer.

Not necessarily, if you have access to good-quality old aerials and too much time.

[dfnva]

That's an interesting question, but it may depend on the state.  I'm sure some states didn't use span wire at all, or rarely.  California  and Illinois come to mind as states where I've never encountered span wire except in construction zones, though I could be mistaken. 

In Virginia, span wire installations made up the majority of signal assemblies installed before the early 1990s. This time period marked a paradigm shift in using mast arms instead, though there were mast arms installed long before 1990.  Occasionally, permanent span wire installations are still erected in VA.  Most recently (2011 or so), a new span wire was installed by VDOT on SR-784/Dale Blvd in Dale City at a fire station.   

[myosh_tino]

I'm sure some states didn't use span wire at all, or rarely.  California  and Illinois come to mind as states where I've never encountered span wire except in construction zones, though I could be mistaken.

There used to be a span wire signal at the intersection of Foothill Blvd and Voss Ave in Cupertino, CA but it was removed more than a decade ago and replaced with a modern mast arm.

[mrsman]

I think you are correct that California was probably one of the first areas to incorporate the mast arms in the 1960's.

From my observations, based primarily on pictures since I was born in the 1970's, in Los Angeles:

Before traffic lights, traffic in busy intersections were controlled by policeman who stood at the middle of an intersection and in some cases there was a special tower for them. 
traffic lights in the 1920's were primarily placed right in the center (where the policeman previously stood) red/green light with stop/go bars that would come out and an audible ding each time the light changed.
In the 1930's the same type of traffic signal were moved to the corners.  Now two lights faced every direction and by moving the signal away from the center, there was a smaller likelihood of a car running into the signal.
By the late 1930's the stop/go bars were eliminated and soon afterward the yellow light was introduced.

In the 1950's, most traffic lights were 8-8-8, two signals facing each direction, one on each opposite corner.

By the 1960's, the standard L.A. operation was seen.  On narrow streets, two 8-8-8 signal faced the street on poles.  On wider streets, an 8-8-8 signal was on the left side on a pole or on a streetlight.  On the right side, there was almost always an 8-8-8 signal and a guy wire mast arm.  The mast arm held a 12-12-12 signal.  Pedestrian lights also started to come on the scene at this time.*

It seems to me that the mast arms were introduced when the red cars and yellow cars (trolleys) were finally removed from the city streets.  The guy wire mast arms would've probably interfered with the overhead electrical wires.

Tubular mast arms came on the scene in the 1980's.  Many of the 8-8-8 signals were replaced with 12-12-12 in the 1990's, but plenty of the 1960's standard light exist, particularly in the San Fernando Valley.

* During my childhood in the '70s and '80s practically all city of Los Angeles traffic signals had pedestrian lights all around the intersection.  But Beverly Hills and Culver City were a little different.  At an intersection of a wide street with a narrow street (e.g. Wilshire and La Peer), there was a pedestrian light for crossing the wide street, controlled by a push button, but no pedestrian light for crossing the narrow street.  Beverly Hills had no guy wire to speak of, all of their mast arms were tubular.  Culver City traffic lights had guy wire, but they made heavy use of 12-8-8 on the mast arm.  As far as I know, all of Culver City's signals have been modernized, but at the corner of Sawtelle and Overland there is a flashing red light that is set up like the old traffic lights.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=W+Washington+Blvd,+Culver+City,+CA&hl=en&ll=33.995208,-118.390379&spn=0.002343,0.00327&sll=38.804821,-77.236966&sspn=3.171762,6.696167&oq=washington+blvd+cu&t=h&hnear=Culver+City,+Los+Angeles+County,+California&z=19&layer=c&cbll=33.995208,-118.390379&panoid=NW5U48CZfN9DLg3ya_yjXw&cbp=12,239.68,,0,-9.08

[M3019C LPS20]

For many years, throughout the city of New York, traffic signals were typically attached to pedestals, in which was when mainly two-section (red and green) traffic signals were in use. Though, back in the day, others were suspended from lamppost like structures at corners. There were some suspended from an early form of a guy wire set-up as well.

The 1950s in the city of New York first saw the development, not to mention the introduction, of the mast-arm/guy wire set-up. It would ultimately change the scene of countless signalized intersections and display of traffic signals throughout the boroughs. The common visibility problem that lingered amongst traffic signals on pedestals was resolved.

Outside of New York City, at around the same time, the city of Baltimore was introduced to a very similar set-up for its traffic signals.
 

[Scott5114]

I think we might be missing a critical link here. Start with the classic one hung above the intersection on a span wire that you can still find in small towns, like the one in the OP. Some extant installations have two four way signal heads, offset diagonally across the intersection, for visibility and redundancy. From that setup, it makes sense to replace the flimsy span wire with a more sturdy mastarm setup like this one in Lindsay, OK. And then once you have mastarms, the modern setup is the next step.

[roadman65]

This is interesting, as I have always wondered about this.  Most of all I was wondering why each state has different concepts of how a signal should be hung.  It is also amazing how each engineer in each state claims the advantages and disadvantages of span wires or mast arms.

For example, my friend who works for Orange County, FL in the signal maintenance department, claims that mast arms CANNOT be used at wide intersections, yet CA, IL, NJ, and other such states found a way to do it.  I actually believe that tradition of how one is brought up is lodged into one's memory has to do with it.  I think that FDOT and many Florida engineers dislike the mast arms and in many cases think they were forced into using them.

Near Orlando we have a signal that is brand new span wire that replaced a mast arm assembly and two others in Kissimme where they also got installed as a replacement for mast arms as well.  I think that it was done because it is cheaper to build and less maintenance on span wires, so first chance they got, they took advantage of it and went backwards.

Now in CA where span wires were sparse to none over decades, the cost never entered one's mind as the cost of the traditional mast arms never got compared to span wiring, so the money thing never got to issue.  Plus adding a span wire to people who are accustomed to seeing mast arms and side mounting would give it a "cheap look."

I would like to know, why in Pennsylvania the Southeastern Counties never used span wiring at all, when the rest of PA used them as the norm up until the 1980's?   Considering signal types are a state thing (although NYC and Chicago have their own style that differs from the state they're in however it is still consistent as being restricted to a specific jurisdiction), you would figure that all of PA would have the same as SE PA has nothing less in common with the rest of the state.  However, they did not and still do not as I have seen span wires  still installed elsewhere in the Commonwealth up till today.

[Alex4897]

I would like to know, why in Pennsylvania the Southeastern Counties never used span wiring at all, when the rest of PA used them as the norm up until the 1980's?   Considering signal types are a state thing (although NYC and Chicago have their own style that differs from the state they're in however it is still consistent as being restricted to a specific jurisdiction), you would figure that all of PA would have the same as SE PA has nothing less in common with the rest of the state.  However, they did not and still do not as I have seen span wires  still installed elsewhere in the Commonwealth up till today.

I've seen a few wire spans along US 30 near Lancaster, so they aren't completely unused in SE PA.

[roadman65]

Lancaster is not SE Penna.

I am talking about Philly, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties.

[SignBridge]

Interesting. Nassau County, NY, on Long Island uses a diagonal mast-arm configuration almost identical to Scott's photo from Lindsay, Oklahoma.

[roadman65]

Interesting. Nassau County, NY, on Long Island uses a diagonal mast-arm configuration almost identical to Scott's photo from Lindsay, Oklahoma.

Florida has them along John Young Parkway in Orlando, but soon will be replaced with standard mast arms with some of them the fattest arm I have ever seen before.

[MDOTFanFB]

Originally, before traffic lights were introduced, similar to Los Angeles, several intersections in Detroit had small, dedicated towers called "crow's nests" for police officers, which featured rotating "stop/go" banners on the top. A replica of a such tower still exists in the suburb of Ferndale.

Then, in the 1920's, the "crow's nests" were all replaced by the earliest examples of the modern red-yellow-green traffic lights. The very first such four-way signal is now located in the Henry Ford Museum in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn. In most cases, they were placed right in the center of intersections.

In the 1930's, the signals, which were all in an 8-8-8 configuration, were either relocated to the corners, with two signals facing in each direction or remained in the center, but now hung from span wires, a method that remains common across Michigan to this day.

The early 1950's saw nearly all signals in Detroit get relocated to guy-wire mast arms. Two guy-wire mast arms, which hung a cluster of two-to-four 8-8-8 traffic lights, hung from opposite corners, with additional 8-8-8 signals intended for pedestrians mounted on either the pole holding the mast arm or a street light. It was also around this time that the traffic lights were painted in their current yellow colors, before then, they were either black or green. Similar guy-wire mast arms were also implemented in many of Detroit's suburbs (including Ferndale, Pontiac and Wyandotte), as well as several other locales throughout Michigan and the country. They were initially installed mostly only at intersections between narrow streets, then were placed at intersections along wider streets after the last remaining streetcar service along Woodward Avenue (then U.S. 10) was shut down in 1956 (although guy-wire mast arms may possibly have been installed along Grand River Avenue (then U.S. 16) earlier, among other radial avenues).

Then, during the 1960's, the first traditional pedestrian lights were placed into service, originally in an 8-8 configuration with "DON'T WALK" and "WALK" indicators (though there may have been a few very early installations in Detroit that had "WAIT" instead of "DON'T WALK"). These pedestrian lights wouldn't become widespread until the 1970's, though. Most original pedestrian lights were painted green in the city of Detroit and yellow in the suburbs. Several of these installations have white bars above and below "WALK", one of these is still in service at Oak and 12th Streets in the suburb of Wyandotte:



The early 1970's saw Michigan's earliest left turn signals be placed into operation, in 8-8-12 configurations (with a "LEFT" sign above the signal), with the 12" head containing a green arrow (on most installations). Later that decade, an unusual mast arm style started appearing in parts of downtown Detroit. Those mast arms held on until the mid 2000's, although the one shown in that link was removed in very early 2012.

A new style of mast arm, the truss arm, was introduced in the early 1980's. They were all hung diagonally over intersections and featured 8-8-8 configurations. That was followed, later that decade by this style, which featured two (or more) 8-8-8 signals hung from the bottom of the mast arm, along with (albeit only on installations with the mast arm perpendicular to the street) illuminated street signs (although they mostly didn't appear until circa 1989).

By the time the 1990's began, the norm for Michigan became yellow 12-12-12 vehicular lights (mainly hung from span wires) and black 12-12 pedestrian lights with symbolized hand/man commands (replacing numerous 8-8-8 installations statewide, though to a lesser extent in Detroit proper) and it has pretty much stayed that way to this date. It was also around this time that the left turn signals became 12-12-12 as well (and still with the "LEFT" sign), with green and yellow arrows and a red light that flashed while the signals for thru traffic were on green.

In the early 2000's, the first modern mast arm installations were placed into service. It was also around this time that most new pedestrian light installations were reduced to one head, with both the hand and man commands on the same head. Then, later that decade, countdowns were added to most new pedestrian light installations. Around the same time, eight-tenths of the older 8-8-8 signals in the city of Detroit were replaced with span wire 12-12-12 installations with countdown pedestrian lights. In addition, the second half of the 2000's saw more widespread use of illuminated overhead street signs on some newer installations, plus the left turn signals started becoming 12-12-12-12 installations with the flashing red light replaced by the flashing yellow arrow, plus, the span wire configuration (which had been diagonally over the intersection since their inception) was changed into a box configuration, with the wires perpendicular to the road (forming a box shape) and individual signal heads being hung from them instead. The main Dix-Toledo Highway entrance into the Walmart store in the Detroit suburb of Southgate (which opened in 2011) is an example of the current norm for Michigan signal installations.

Sorry if I wrote a bit too much and if I went off-topic.

[Brian556]

TXDOT typically uses span wire on wood poles in rural areas, and in urban areas for semi-permanent (road will be widened within 15 years), and temp work zone setups. In Texas, the span wire assemblies do often look cheap and junky.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.054308,-97.201734,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sQwvPbjmrJu_F_r9M1hIQNQ!2e0

In Florida, the span wire assemblies look a lot nicer.

For that reason, generally don't like span wire signals in Texas, but I kinda like them in Florida.

[on_wisconsin]

In the south, Ohio, and the northeast, the span wire assemblies do often look cheap and junky.

fixed

[SignBridge]

I have seen many cheezy looking span-wires in the Northeast but I know 2 agencies that have good quality span-wire installations. They are New York State DOT and Nassau County DPW on Long Island. Critical as I am of those agencies in some ways, and much as I prefer mast-arms, I have to give credit where credit is due.

[traffic light guy]

Well the earliest ones I know were in California which were installed as early as the 1950s!
New Jersey, on the other hand used 2-guy wires throughout the 1960s,until they used truss arm in the 80s.
Other states didn't use masts at all, like Connecticut. New York started using them around 2004, same with Delaware.

But there is one state that is obsessed with these, and that is Pennsylvania. PA started using their mast-arms around 1967-ish. But they didn't become in to full use until 1970. Pennsylvania hated 2-guy wires, so instead they would used these solid diagonal mast-arms. If they weren't using those diagonal arms, they used straight stackable ones instead.
So here are pictures of the earliest Pennsylvania's examples, installed throughout the 1970s:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28925161@N02/5520572369

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Macsignals/Delaware%20Lehigh%20and%20Skuykill%20River%20Valley%20Signals/Levittown/100_1968.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ZkmN2RrOJxw/TOBGLfchYNI/AAAAAAAAjlA/R7U02yDnrGQ/s640/IMG_2951.JPG

[traffic light guy]

Well the earliest ones I know were in California which were installed as early as the 1950s!
New Jersey, on the other hand used 2-guy wires throughout the 1960s,until they used truss arm in the 80s.
Other states didn't use masts at all, like Connecticut. New York started using them around 2004, same with Delaware.

But there is one state that is obsessed with these, and that is Pennsylvania. PA started using their mast-arms around 1967-ish. But they didn't become in to full use until 1970. Pennsylvania hated 2-guy wires, so instead they would used these solid diagonal mast-arms. If they weren't using those diagonal arms, they used straight stackable ones instead.
So here are pictures of the earliest Pennsylvania's examples, installed throughout the 1970s:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28925161@N02/5520572369

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Macsignals/Delaware%20Lehigh%20and%20Skuykill%20River%20Valley%20Signals/Levittown/100_1968.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ZkmN2RrOJxw/TOBGLfchYNI/AAAAAAAAjlA/R7U02yDnrGQ/s640/IMG_2951.JPG

But as of now these groovey pieces of 1970s history have been replaced by boring modern junk.

[jeffandnicole]

New Jersey, on the other hand used 2-guy wires throughout the 1960s,until they used truss arm in the 80s.

Arms were used in Jersey weeeeellllllll before the 80's.

[SignBridge]

Yeah really, New Jersey was home of the trombone arm way back in the 1950's and still uses them extensively in the Newark area. Newer installations use truss arms and monotubes.

[M3019C LPS20]

The mast-arm/guy wire set-up in New Jersey goes as far back as to the days of Horni. Longer in existence than the similar set-up New York City's former Department of Traffic designed after 1952.

[Pink Jazz]

Here in the Phoenix area, the cities of Tempe and Goodyear, as well as a small number of intersections in northwest Gilbert have big boxy signal masts with the traffic signals and illuminated street name signs built inside them. 

I wonder for what reasons did the Town of Gilbert choose to install a few of those type of signal masts in that part of town; the town apparently has reverted to using the standard ADOT style masts ever since those were installed.

[roadman65]

I grew up in New Jersey and I can assure you that truss style mast arms were in existence back in the early 70's.  In fact it was fun growing up seeing many intersections use both the truss style arm and double guy mast arms together.  Whenever a mast arm got too old or failed inspection they would replace it with the new truss style. As time progressed in the 70's and into the 80's you would see more truss styles start to replace the old double guys except in Union, Cranford, and Rahway.

Linden, NJ was one of the first communities to use yellow signal heads and its downtown area used to have horizontal mast arms attached to cute little extending brackets similar to New York's Fifth Avenue Midtown Manhattan's mast arm set up.  They were all replaced with modern tubular arms in the 90's when Union County did a whole county overhaul of its county maintained signals sadly to say.

Morristown, I am guessing, was trying to keep the double guys for the longest on state maintained signals as they switched over to truss style back in the mid 80's.  Only on NJ 24 entering the Park Place Square had one truss style arm in the 70's and US 202 at Sussex Avenue had a full truss arm assembly while the rest of Morristown was all double guys.  In 1974 back on a class trip to the Ford Mansion and Jockey Hollow a construction project I saw where US 202 comes into Park Place from Speedwell Avenue introduced truss style arms on the NW corner of the Square with 12-12-12 signal heads as NJ (and in Morristown) at that time was mostly 8-8-8.

New Jersey also used to use planted signal poles that did not use bolts to hold them up.  They were driven into the soil deep that the earth would hold the pole up and straight, but later went to the assembly of mounting on the ground the same way that aluminum highway light poles use with that box  In some communities today you can still find the planted poles still in use even with the truss arms as when they changed over from double guy to truss arms some places left the signal post while only replacing the arm on them.

NJ even had two double guy type of assemblies as well back in the day.  The brackets that assisted the guy cables on some were mounted underneath the arm and some were mounted on top.  Even some horizontal signal heads in Newark used double guys (and you can find them still around) with the cables holding the trombone mounts steady.



https://flic.kr/p/dXcrJb Showing you what the planted poles look like and if you look in the distance you will see what NJ uses now on modern truss style ground mounts on the newer signals at that particular intersection.

[jwolfer]

I always liked the concrete poles used to support the guy wires in Florida. There is also utility poles made out of concrete

[The High Plains Traveler]

I'm pretty sure California had mast arms before the 1950s. I'll have to find a photo showing this on one of the California roads Facebook groups I frequent. They were in wide use at my earliest memories, and unless they were all installed in the first five years or so of my life, they were in use in the 1940s and maybe even before. The California mast arm design for many years was an 8-8-8 head on a double guy wire-supported arm. This was used until the 1960s when the first monotube arms were deployed.