Removal of Traffic Signals

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/t4NHXrEm2yo4Hjwv8
Found this interesting intersection at US 61 and IA 64 in Maquoketa, IA.

Notice that there is a typical diamond interchange STOP sign.


However go back to 2008. https://goo.gl/maps/9ZjkN8NEKDe3XXyj7

Notice how then it was signalized.

Yet in 2021, years after the removal, the controller is still present.
https://goo.gl/maps/ntphMjDFcVLJAMhk6

Not to mention the signal poles are still there with the plate on them where the mast arms once rested on and bolted to it.

[jakeroot]

Had at least one thread on this before, thought there was more but can only find this one:

Traffic Signals Now Controlled By Stop Signs



I can think of one near me, I'll quote it from a separate, unrelated thread:

I always used to think this intersection was getting prepped for traffic signals, with the masts having been installed long enough ago that they'd already begun to rust:

7 Ave SW @ Fruitland Ave; Puyallup, WA

As it turns out, the signals were actually removed in 1989 (PDF; pg 3). Thankfully the county has a digital archive of all their traffic control changes dating back to 1989 (and not a year earlier), otherwise I'd still be confused. Especially given that this intersection can get wildly backed up from the westbound approach during parts of the day. I'm really not sure why the signal was removed, since if anything, a signal is warranted here over most three-way intersections in the area.

[webny99]

There are several in Niagara Falls, including US 62 WB (Ferry Ave) at 10th St: 2016 vs. 2020.

[PurdueBill]

While the other thread is more about signals that have remained as flashing beacons, this one seems to be about outright removals of signals but with vestiges remaining possibly. 
The first thing I thought of was vestiges of an intersection that has been gone since about 2000 near my work.  Until 2017, the mast arms remained for a street that no longer existed as well as the thru street.  https://goo.gl/maps/fpXQ63uDcfaFQRb56
If you move to today's imagery, you can see the pole remains holding the luminary, with the mounting points for the signals still obvious.


The other intersection of interest related to that (with former streets becoming campus walkways) is around the corner; they had removed the mast arms when the street closed in the 90s and by 2014 had put them back, to hold Yield To Pedestrians signage. One might figure seeing it for the first time today that the mast arms had stayed all along, but nope.  (If you go back in time, you can see there being no mast arms.)   https://goo.gl/maps/6A6B9DtNj7JhwUgs9

On the other side of Exchange St. near work, there are poles from a classic old-time Akron spanwire setup that has had neither signals nor spanwire for a long time.  Who knows why the posts have sat there for 20 years!  https://goo.gl/maps/V7dXC2VUo51QJDrJ6 

Akron got quite aggressive about 10 years ago trying to remove signals that were not warranted, but some backfired.  The one at Cedar and Bowery was removed but eventually put back in after tons of crashes.  A few others around Akron were first converted to beacons (yellow one way, red the other) before removal but community opposition (primarily on school walking routes) resulted in reverting to regular operation.

[webny99]

The aforementioned signal(s) in Niagara Falls were simply covered up for a year or two. There was signage noting that signal removal was being studied, and eventually the signals and corresponding signs were removed.

[US 89]

The Frank Phillips/Hensley/Western intersection in Bartlesville, OK had its signals removed sometime between 2012 and 2015.

[wanderer2575]

2010 photo of a signal on 24-hour flashing mode on OH-25 in Portage (south of Bowling Green).  The signal was eventually removed.

[Bitmapped]

A lot of signals have been removed in the Cleveland area during traffic signal upgrades because they no longer met the warrants for keeping the signal. In East Cleveland, the majority of signals were taken out: https://www.cleveland.com/roadrant/2012/04/study_shows_that_majority_of_e.html

Warren, OH got rid of many signals in the last two years that no longer met warrants: https://warren.org/public-notices/211-city-of-warren-traffic-signal-evaluation-and-upgrade-school-zone-signals-multi-way-stop-analysis

I've not encountered a lot of signal removals in West Virginia. There is one I had correspondence with WVDOH about earlier this year on WV 3 in Whitesville where the signal is non-operational and dark. The signal had been removed a couple years ago, and then was put back, but hadn't been operational for at least a couple months: https://goo.gl/maps/79ddk1uAmgTtK3D5A The district traffic engineer told me it would be taken down.

Digging through MDSHA archives, I saw there used to be a signal in Grantsville, MD at the intersection of what is now Alt US 40 and MD 495: https://goo.gl/maps/NB8VWYUAAwdfryAg9 The signal was removed by the 1980s once US 40 had been re-routed onto what is now I-68 and it no longer met traffic warrants.

[steviep24]

These signals were removed years ago but the old span wire remains.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1479042,-77.732495,3a,37.5y,156.02h,93.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skfm4vbOf9fwxD1N_krbtIQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&authuser=0

Also, here's a location where the signals were removed and then reinstalled. Note that the span wire remained.

Signals existed in 2007
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.054905,-77.6910077,3a,75y,9.35h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVqu2dT-o2J5Kte14npWJzw!2e0!5s20070801T000000!7i3328!8i1664?hl=en&authuser=0

Signals removed not sure when but are gone in 2012 streetview.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0548808,-77.6909888,3a,75y,9.35h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sXpRSAdk0DuZSTOl2-4F09g!2e0!5s20120601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

Signals reinstalled in 2020 (2021 streetview)
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0549006,-77.6910259,3a,75y,9.35h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sstfVFLdgrbdOrLmJ1Kqalg!2e0!5s20210801T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&authuser=0

[Revive 755]

It's happened a few times in Chicagoland:

* IL 83 at what is now Old Petite Lake Road in Lake Villa - Streetview managed to catch the signal when it was turned off but prior to removal

* US 14 at the old Motorola campus in Harvard

* IL 53 at the former Walter Strawn Drive/IRA Morgran Drive intersection south of Joliet should be coming down soon.

[thenetwork]

Paonia, CO:  The downtown area is off the main route of CO-133 by a mile or so.

But several decades ago, this tiny town had at least one signalized intersection. And the span wire and control box were never removed:

116 3rd St
https://maps.app.goo.gl/mR7xsMKoX3C4Zhhj7