The evolution of worded pedestrian signals in New York City

[M3019C LPS20]

On the streets of New York City, from the 1950s until the early 2000s, several kinds of worded pedestrian signals existed. The different characteristics and configurations are interesting to observe. This timeline will provide a general background behind all of the variations of the "DONT WALK" and "WALK" (including "WAIT" and "WALK) pedestrian signals in the city.

Beginning in February of 1952, then New York City traffic commissioner T.T. Wiley installed a handful of the first worded pedestrian signals in New York City. Manufactured by the Crouse-Hinds company, the neon pedestrian signals were located near and at Times Square in Manhattan for quite a short period of time. They were horizontal in appearance, and red and green signal indications were in use. Below, is one photograph that shows a set-up in useful service.



Interestingly enough, they operated with vehicular two-section (red and green) traffic signals at the time, and, because only "DONT" and "WALK" were present, a "DONT WALK" signal indication appeared as red and green, while an ordinary "WALK" signal indication appeared as only green, of course. The way each pedestrian signal was mounted is interesting to observe, too, since an early form of a guy wire set-up was in use. The set-up itself was used to suspend an early two-section traffic signal years earlier as well.



The photograph above shows New York City traffic commissioner T.T. Wiley and a worker installing one of the Crouse-Hinds neon pedestrian signals in Manhattan, while a group of curious people below watch the two gentlemen. Circa 1952.

While the pedestrian signal seemed beneficial to some, it had a disadvantage, in which caused confusion amongst countless pedestrians. Due to the illumination of a red "DONT" and green "WALK" at the same time, some pedestrians found this rather puzzling and were not sure how to approach it. T.T. Wiley heavily criticized this, and, as a result, he discontinued the installment of future pedestrian signals and wanted the ones already in service to be removed, in which happened around 1954.

As we continue in time, we are in 1955. The bulky neon pedestrian signal from Winko-Matic made its debut on the streets of Manhattan.



The photograph above shows a brand new pair in useful service from the year 1955, in which both were installed on 7th Ave. in Manhattan. T.T. Wiley in the photograph turns on the signalized intersection on 7th Ave. for the first time, while a group of people behind him watch.

300 other signalized intersections throughout Manhattan would soon be upgraded, and the pedestrian signal would eventually spread throughout the rest of the boroughs in later years.

Aside from its appearance, the pedestrian signal was quite heavy as far as weight is concerned, but was apparently manufactured to last, since many remained in useful service throughout most of the boroughs of New York City in the early 1980s. Red and green signal indications were in use for "DONT WALK" and "WALK," and the housing was originally painted dark olive green. At least two kinds of this neon pedestrian signal were in existence. The first version had four ventilation strips on the back of the housing, while the second kind only had two in use.

New York City installed this pedestrian signal from the time of its introduction to the early 1970s. They were typically installed at either newly constructed or upgraded signalized intersections. Below, are some photographs of this kind of pedestrian signal in service. Most were from Manhattan.

Early 1980s.



Delancey Street and Orchard Street. Circa 1980.



Another view of this signalized intersection in Manhattan. Same year as well.



The photograph above shows an interesting set-up that I like. It was common to see on some major thoroughfares throughout New York City at least two different kinds of pedestrian signals in use at signalized intersections. A lot of Marbelite LPS-20 pedestrian signals were paired with the bulky Winko-Matic pedestrian signals in later years, since many signalized intersections originally had pedestrian signals that typically faced the cross streets, while the main streets totally lacked them.

These two photographs from 1972 show a pair. Before and after repaint. I personally like the dark olive green color.





The late 1950s saw the first usage of "WAIT" and "WALK" signal indications, and these were scattered at various locations throughout mainly Manhattan; however, some existed elsewhere, such as Brooklyn, for example. A majority of these were once located in Central Park for many years, and, though many have been removed over the years, a handful still exist in this area of New York City. Below, are two pictures of one that was originally from there. From Robert Mulero.



It was perhaps sometime in the late 1950s as well that a third kind of neon pedestrian signal first began to appear on the streets of various locations in New York City. Similar to the bulky neon pedestrian signal from Winko-Matic, this cute, small pedestrian signal was perhaps manufactured by the same company as well. The common arrangement in regards to this kind was four for solely the cross street, while the main drag had an ordinary traffic signal (it served as a pedestrian signal) that faced the crosswalk (one for each direction). This arrangement was common when pedestrian signals first appeared in the 1950s, and, today, it is very rare to see, since countless signalized intersections have been upgraded throughout the years.

At Tillary St. and Jay St. Downtown Brooklyn. Early 1970s. The small neon pedestrian signal is located at the corner (left) of the signalized intersection. Other photographs of this set-up exist elsewhere on the Internet, and the rather unique arrangement for the pedestrian signals, in which I mentioned in the previous paragraph, was in use here.



These two pictures below show another example of the mini neon pedestrian signal in service. From lower Manhattan. 1974. From Robert Mulero.



One with a bulky Winko-Matic neon pedestrian signal. Queens Boulevard in Queens. Early 1980s.



By the 1960s, the Marbelite model LPS-20 pedestrian signal made its debut on the streets of New York City, and it would eventually become the common kind of pedestrian signal throughout the city by the 1970s. Original pedestrian signal housings were painted dark olive green; however, they were, like others, were repainted after 1969. The process (citywide) was completed in the early 1970s.

The 16" pedestrian signal also showed red and green signal indication, but Portland Orange and Lunar white would soon become the standard in the mid 1970s. These pedestrian signals would as well be removed by the city in the early 1980s.

The Bronx. Early 1970s.



Same borough. Circa 1972. It was a common sight in the 1960s and early 1970s to see traffic signals in service with dark olive green pedestrian signals in use. Though the traffic signals throughout New York City were repainted in the 1960s, the pedestrian signals were untouched until later years.



Queens. 1971.



Early 1980s in Queens. With the barely visible Lunar white "WALK" indication.



When the LPS-20 pedestrian signals were repainted in the early 1970s, a majority of the original brackets attached to them were left untouched. Though these would eventually be repainted to match the yellow as time progressed.


Though the Marbelite LPS-20 pedestrian signal was considered as the common pedestrian signal of the city in the 1970s, another 16" pedestrian signal, in which was similar to the LPS-20, made its appearance near the end of the 1970s.



What is shown above was manufactured by Winko-Matic, this 16" pedestrian signal first appeared as early as 1976 in New York City. When compared to the LPS-20 from Marbelite, this kind solely used Portland Orange and Lunar White signal indications, and it had a rather square back with regards to the housing. Additionally, the arrangement of the visor on the housing was different than that of the LPS-20, since it covered the top portion of the front of the housing, while the LPS-20 visor did not cover this small area on the front.

I believe this kind of pedestrian signal (among the others in use at this particular period in time in New York City) was the only one in use for a fairly short period of time. Like others, this pedestrian signal was removed by the city in the early 1980s. It has been extinct since 1984 or 1985. Less than 20 years of useful service. Below, are some additional photographs of this kind of pedestrian signal in service.

Uptown Manhattan. 1983.



Same area of Manhattan. 1983.



The pedestrian signal was commonly used at a newly constructed signalized intersection; however, other purposes to keep in mind are additions (as upgrades) to signalized intersections already in existence and replacements for older pedestrian signals.

As we continue in time, the 1980s saw the citywide removal of the Marbelite LPS-20, 16" Winko-Matic, neon, and "WAIT" and "WALK" pedestrian signals. The removal process began as early as 1982, and, since 1985 or so, these pedestrian signals have been extinct from the city of New York. Below, is a photograph of a scrapyard from Brooklyn. 1983. Countless retired LPS-20 pedestrian signals are shown. A sad sight.



This decade saw the introduction of a new kind of pedestrian signal, in which was completely different in appearance. Unlike what was originally in use for nearly three decades, the housing lacked an actual visor. Instead, a louver, in which was fire retardant and vandal resistant, covered the worded lenses, and two individual lenses for "DONT WALK" and "WALK" were in use at this time. The concept of the bi-modal pedestrian signal was a thing of the past. The new kind of pedestrian signal that ultimately replaced the original bi-modal pedestrian signal was manufactured by Winko-Matic, and it was the model VI 2L. It first appeared on the streets of New York City at the same time of the removal process, and it would eventually become the norm throughout the boroughs. Before the introduction of the hand and man in 2000, future 16" pedestrian signals would share the exact design.





This photograph from around 1983 shows a newly installed Winko-Matic VI 2L pedestrian signal. St. Nicholas Ave. in uptown Manhattan. Other bi-modal pedestrian signals (in the background of the photograph) are in their final days.



The Winko-Matic pedestrian signals were installed by the city from the time of introduction until the end of the 1980s.

It was not until in 1987 that a second kind of this 16" pedestrian signal design was introduced at various locations in New York City. Manufactured in Brazil and by the company Peterco, this kind was installed until the early 1990s. There are some minor differences between this one and the VI 2L from Winko-Matic, such as louver, lens design, illumination, and font. It was generally common to see this as a newly installed pedestrian signal at a signalized intersection that originally did not use pedestrian signals. These were also paired with the Winko-Matic pedestrian signals, so they also served as replacements.

Below, are two pictures that show this kind of pedestrian signal.





These pedestrian signals were manufactured for the city of New York from 1987 to at least 1990, and a year of manufacture could be viewed on the back of the housing (aside from the name of the company).

The 1990s saw the introduction of the last, not to mention third kind of 16" pedestrian signal. Manufactured by General Traffic Equipment, the first generation P-6 polycarbonate model was the first of its kind in New York City to have a ventilation cap on the back, and the louver in appearance was that of a rather simple design, in which was similar to the Peterco louver. Unlike the Winko-Matic VI 2L (and like the Peterco), the louver did not cover the entire front of the housing.

From the Bronx. Early 2000s.





The G.T.E. P-6 served as a replacement and an upgrade to a signalized intersection in existence. Additionally, it was used at a newly constructed signalized intersection.


Beginning in 2000, N.Y.C.D.O.T. first began to convert from "DONT WALK' and "WALK" to the L.E.D. hand and man, and countless worded pedestrian signals were retro-fitted with new L.E.D. inserts. The housings still remain intact, and countless from Winko-Matic, G.T.E., and Peterco remain throughout the boroughs.

In spite of the conversion, worded pedestrian signals were still installed at various locations of New York City until 2002 or so. Around 2005, most of New York City's pedestrian signals were successfully retro-fitted; however, a handful of survivors remained untouched until N.Y.C.D.O.T. found and altered them.