Horizontal Traffic Lights

[jakeroot]

Kirkwood, Missouri recently installed a good number of horizontally mounted heads on the stretch of US 61/US 67 they maintain:  Link to project website.

I don't recall seeing many/any(?) horizontal signals when I was in STL last. These are a one-off situation, yes?

I see the signals are designed to be "decorative", though I'm not sure how horizontal placement makes them decorative (other than being a sort-of boutique element of the area).

[US 89]

I don't recall seeing many/any(?) horizontal signals when I was in STL last. These are a one-off situation, yes?

When I was in St Louis last, I saw these on Washington Street where it crosses I-44:

[motorola870]

Quote from Jakeroot:

I think most of Texas uses horizontal traffic lights. So, I guess Amarillo is the oddity.

TxDOT Dist. 2 (Ft Worth) uses vertical signals exclusively.

City of Dallas signals on old-style poles are vertical.
City Of Farmers Branch uses vertical on modern mast arms.

An old photograph shows four-section heads with a red on either end on SH 24 (now US 380) in Denton.

TxDOT Dist. 2 does not and has not used only vertical signals exclusively. Arlington uses horizontal and every TxDOT maintained highway in Arlington exclusively uses horizontal lights with only one exception the green oaks bvld/dottie lynn parkway intersection on state highway 180 at the city limits with Fort Worth has a vertical install. As a matter of fact They have converted multiple TxDoT vertical signals as of 2018 to horizontal in Grand Prairie and Mansfield along SH360/toll SH360 and US377 in Benbrook as part of reconstruction projects. Arlington converted from vertical lights during the 1970s.

The Paris TXDoT district does use vertical signals. Paris, Greenville, Sulphur Springs all have vertical signals.

Stephenville TX has been in the process of converting signals from vertical to horizontal as well. Then of course the exceptions like Mansfield who love to use both horizontal and vertical setups throughout the city. Debbie Lane is a worst offender west side of city has vertical lights except the entrance to a school just east of Bus. US 287 which is horizontal then they are vertical until US 287 eastward it is horizontal until the last signal at TX360. Most of the horizontal installations are near Arlington and Grand Prairie in the northern sections of the city.

[David Jr.]

Now we are in Jackson, Mississippi.  These horizontal traffic lights are on the Interstate 55 North Frontage Rd. at Eastover Drive.  This is on the East Frontage Road:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.3431404,-90.1575963,3a,75y,119.67h,89.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st0BpgzSMnFJhUjGku9u_Ug!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

And the West Frontage Road:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.343322,-90.1579689,3a,75y,295.85h,86.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYjju52MJ1MLujpwYW-nXjA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[STLmapboy]

Sometime between 2011 and 2015, one of the mast arms at I-65/Dauphin St in Mobile came down and was replaced with a "temporary" span wire setup that has been there since. The lights facing the ramp from I-65 SB are horizontal, for whatever reason.

By the way, missing mast arms seem to be a common theme around Mobile.

[Ned Weasel]

Yesterday I noticed Roeland Park got added to the list of cities in Kansas with horizontal traffic signals (except for one-off examples in Wichita and KCK).  Previously, to my knowledge, that list only included Lenexa.





I honestly like the aesthetics of horizontal traffic signals, but I'm not really digging those street name signs. 

[Rothman]

No one mentioned Syracuse, NY in this thread?  Has horizontal lights due to the viaducts.

[US 89]

There are a fair amount of horizontal lights scattered around Georgia, mostly at locations where visibility is an issue. But I recently encountered a very odd installation where only one of the lights was horizontal...and it was backwards:



I think this is the first time I've ever seen a permanent horizontal signal installed the wrong way.

[SkyPesos]

Japan was mentioned earlier in the thread for countries that use horizontal signals. For others in East Asia, I like Taiwan's and Singapore's horizontal signals too.

[Mr Kite]

Japan varies by area, although horizontal signals dominate. Hokkaido is the most notable user of vertical traffic lights...

Hokkaido
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Aafnez6PQisV34iv9

South Korea and Taiwan seem near universally horizontal and seem to have been heavily influenced by Japan when it comes to signal operation.

Horizontal signals are pretty rare in Europe. The only example I can think of is Finland, though even here, vertical signals dominate...

Nylandsgatan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KCXi7FuZYC2Zj2Be9

[zachary_amaryllis]

There are a fair amount of horizontal lights scattered around Georgia, mostly at locations where visibility is an issue. But I recently encountered a very odd installation where only one of the lights was horizontal...and it was backwards:



I think this is the first time I've ever seen a permanent horizontal signal installed the wrong way.

that light is scrooged up.

[snowc]

No one mentioned Syracuse, NY in this thread?  Has horizontal lights due to the viaducts.

[roadfro]

There are a fair amount of horizontal lights scattered around Georgia, mostly at locations where visibility is an issue. But I recently encountered a very odd installation where only one of the lights was horizontal...and it was backwards:



I think this is the first time I've ever seen a permanent horizontal signal installed the wrong way.

that light is scrooged up.

I'm guessing it was originally a vertical 5-aspect display, repurposed by hanging the wrong way and turning the arrow elements...

[SkyPesos]

South Korea and Taiwan seem near universally horizontal and seem to have been heavily influenced by Japan when it comes to signal operation.

It took me a while to understand Japan's signal operation, but now that I understand it, I like that most left turns are protected-permissive instead of either protected only or permissive only (in mainland China).

Speaking of the mainland, most cities use vertical signals there, but of the ones I've been to, Shenzhen and Hangzhou use horizontal.

[Scott5114]

South Korea and Taiwan seem near universally horizontal and seem to have been heavily influenced by Japan when it comes to signal operation.

It took me a while to understand Japan's signal operation, but now that I understand it, I like that most left turns are protected-permissive instead of either protected only or permissive only (in mainland China).

Speaking of the mainland, most cities use vertical signals there, but of the ones I've been to, Shenzhen and Hangzhou use horizontal.

Wait, what? What does the signal operation in Japan have to do with mainland China?

[SkyPesos]

South Korea and Taiwan seem near universally horizontal and seem to have been heavily influenced by Japan when it comes to signal operation.

It took me a while to understand Japan's signal operation, but now that I understand it, I like that most left turns are protected-permissive instead of either protected only or permissive only (in mainland China).

Speaking of the mainland, most cities use vertical signals there, but of the ones I've been to, Shenzhen and Hangzhou use horizontal.

Wait, what? What does the signal operation in Japan have to do with mainland China?

That the mainland uses a completely different signal operation compared to its neighbors.

[Mr Kite]

Although Hong Kong & Macau have a more British influence on their signals rather than Japanese.

Mainland China varies a lot. It seems provinces are pretty much left to their own devices.

[US 89]

There are a fair amount of horizontal lights scattered around Georgia, mostly at locations where visibility is an issue. But I recently encountered a very odd installation where only one of the lights was horizontal...and it was backwards:



I think this is the first time I've ever seen a permanent horizontal signal installed the wrong way.

that light is scrooged up.

I'm guessing it was originally a vertical 5-aspect display, repurposed by hanging the wrong way and turning the arrow elements...

Which still doesn't make much sense, because I don't think I've ever seen a vertical 5-section tower in Georgia. There are a few horizontal 5-section left turn displays (installed correctly), and then a whole lot of doghouses.

Maybe they accidentally ordered a 5 section horizontal right-turn signal on accident and then turned the arrows...

[ran4sh]

They used to be more common, I remember at least 2 five-section towers in the Athens GA area in the 80s-90s.

But even back then they were still a distinct minority of five-section signal installations (doghouses have always been the dominant style of such signal here).

[SkyPesos]

Although Hong Kong & Macau have a more British influence on their signals rather than Japanese.

Mainland China varies a lot. It seems provinces are pretty much left to their own devices.

Not just provinces, It's mostly at the cities level.

Though no traffic light in mainland China is as bad as the "shrinking bar" one I've seen in Tianjin a couple of times.

[Mr Kite]

Yes, that's one of those "too clever by half" innovations that shows something that was recently impossible (thus, looks "futuristic") but doesn't improve on what we had already. I can't recall where, but some place else in China has single aspect LED signals which change colours, which has similar issues. Separate aspects helps emphasize the change in sequence by making the light "move". The bar system also doesn't practically allow for anything other than fixed time operational either, which is hardly progressive.


Then you have these lights in Turkey, which have the mast arms lit up in whatever colour the signals are showing at the time. Garrish and a distraction. Also, note the countdown timer, which means fixed time operation...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ldTcpa0lsp0

[mrsman]

^^^^



It is interesting to note that the countdown timer is in the spot of the amber aspect, but query as to why it is only on the mast arm on the left and not also on the mast arm to the right.

Is that a pedestrian crossing signal?  While fixed timer is never great, it is downright horrible at a pedestrian crossing signal.  The peds should just push the button.

[DrSmith]

Selected horizontal side-mounted signals that it would seem to be a result of awnings
https://goo.gl/maps/FDjgDKmP1mt1VBjZ6
https://goo.gl/maps/MwSQBtGdWisUSfaD9
https://goo.gl/maps/quqbt3UpXtcSsMvZ6

[roadman65]

This one in Houston of a side mount on San Jacinto Street.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50305121391_2b09dc58dd_k.jpg

[Scott5114]

From the thumbnail, that building to the right really looks like it says AT&T SPORTSHIT.