Minneapolis traffic signals

[Sub-Urbanite]

What's up with the traffic signals in Minneapolis with the two horizontal arms? Seems like they're inconsistently used to support signs, but many didn't have anything attached to them.

[Mdcastle]

Probably a sign at one time and it was removed but they left the second arm?

[EpicRoadways]

Assuming you're talking about signal arms like this they're used to support larger signs that might be bent, risk falling or being otherwise damaged if they were affixed to only one arm (from my experience, it seems like most Minneapolis traffic signal arms are pretty flimsy). Any arms that you saw that were unused probably at one time either held or were planned to hold one of these larger signs. Most Mpls overhead signals are designed with a bracket for that second arm should one ever need to be installed, it's just a matter of design specifications whether it's used or not.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Probably a sign at one time and it was removed but they left the second arm?

Or just leaving the option open in case they want to upgrade to one of those electronic signs later.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9820758,-93.2692343,3a,15y,62.28h,92.71t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sH19UWo2zbyojQDW1T11Olg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DH19UWo2zbyojQDW1T11Olg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D144.64566%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

[Sub-Urbanite]

OK! Well, mystery solved, I guess. Seems like an odd expense to go ahead and preemptively add the double arm but I'm sure there are reasons

[jakeroot]

Not until this thread did I realize it was normal in Minneapolis to use different mast arms than what MnDOT uses.

It seems like a lot of mast arms have the attachment point for the second mast arm, even really old signals, but they don't all have that second mast arm.

[on_wisconsin]

Not until this thread did I realize it was normal in Minneapolis to use different mast arms than what MnDOT uses.

Several suburbs in the south metro also use a different style of mast arm that are somewhat similar to CA and AZ's standard: https://goo.gl/maps/wfg518fTC25DW6Bs5 https://goo.gl/maps/ZjtwD7Vwn1WUrhbn7

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Not until this thread did I realize it was normal in Minneapolis to use different mast arms than what MnDOT uses.

Several suburbs in the south metro also use a different style of mast arm that are somewhat similar to CA and AZ's standard: https://goo.gl/maps/wfg518fTC25DW6Bs5 https://goo.gl/maps/ZjtwD7Vwn1WUrhbn7

Heh, when you said "south metro"  I was thinking something like Burnsville or Apple Valley before I opened the links