Horizontal/Vertical Stoplights

[realjd]

I've noticed that different areas in Florida mount traffic lights differently. Some areas are predominantly horizontal and some are almost exclusively vertical.

Horizontal:
SE Florida (specifically, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties)
Florida Panhandle (haven't been there enough to be more specific)
Gainesville area (and perhaps other surrounding counties)

Vertical:
SW Florida
Tampa
Orlando/Central Florida
Space/Treasure Coasts
Jacksonville

Why is this? Is it dependent on FDOT district, county roads department, or just the local contractors? Indian River County has been installing horizontal lights on all new construction lately, and there are a few rogue horizontal lights in Palm Bay that look like they were installed by a different contractor. Horizontal makes sense from a wind-load perspective, so I'm surprised more areas aren't going to that.

[UptownRoadGeek]

It's usually due to winds resistance or to a lesser extent, aesthetics.  Why each area does it different just depends.  I wonder the specific reasons myself at times.  Here in the N.O. area the suburbs exclusively mounts all lights vertically with maybe one exception.  For years the City of N.O. has been mounting the main overhead lights horizontally with pedestal and turn lights vertically.  Now this year they have started mounting vertical lights that hang from the mast arm vs being fixed directly to the pole (I'm assuming it's for wind resistance).  Whatever the case the new look is extremely tacky.

[Ian]

In many places in the mid atlantic and northest, signals are mounted horizntally when facing a low clearance bridge.

[Bryant5493]

Decatur Street SE @ Collins St. SE, Atlanta, Georgia


Be well,

Bryant

[Marc]

All of Texas does horizontal mounting except San Antonio and Amarillo. And I HATE it! You get a windy day and they get turned away from their orientation, or worse, they get knocked off the poles and dangle by the wires. One near where I live did that over the weekend on the Westpark Tollway frontage (FM 1093 here in Ft. Bend County). I'm guessing this has to do with how they are mounted. Houston needs to fix it, or better yet, start mounting vertical like normal places do it.

New Mexico also does pretty much exclusively horizontal mounting as well. HATE IT!!!

[froggie]

New Mexico also does pretty much exclusively horizontal mounting as well. HATE IT!!!

In my experience, New Mexico does exclusively horizontal overhead mounting, period.  I don't mind it, but then again I grew up next to Wisconsin which is the same case.

On a somewhat related note, about the only real difference between New Mexico and Minnesota signal standards is that New Mexico uses horizontal overheads while Minnesota uses vertical overheads.  Both use red left arrows and make extensive use of not just overhead signals (on mast arms) but also side-mounted signals.

[realjd]

All of Texas does horizontal mounting except San Antonio and Amarillo. And I HATE it! You get a windy day and they get turned away from their orientation, or worse, they get knocked off the poles and dangle by the wires. One near where I live did that over the weekend on the Westpark Tollway frontage (FM 1093 here in Ft. Bend County). I'm guessing this has to do with how they are mounted. Houston needs to fix it, or better yet, start mounting vertical like normal places do it.

New Mexico also does pretty much exclusively horizontal mounting as well. HATE IT!!!

From what I understand, the wind issue is one of the big reasons that some parts of Florida use horizontal signals. Becuase they present a lower profile to the wind, they're less likely to get destroyed in a hurricane than vertical mount signals. I suspect that Texas is just cheaping out on the installation HW, or maybe because TX hangs them below the pole while Florida hangs them directly in line with the pole.

Here's an example of a typical Florida horizontal-mount light (from Sebastian, FL):
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=27.769008,-80.445049&spn=0,359.996567&z=19&layer=c&cbll=27.769296,-80.444954&panoid=QrvDfj-syG5lDym_JRRJWg&cbp=12,289.53,,0,-4.14

[74/171FAN]

Pretty much all the signals that I remember seeing here in Virginia are vertical.

[Alex]

Horizontally orientated mast-arm installations began appearing in northwest Florida by 1999, if not earlier. Hurricanes Erin and Opal caused a shift in the SOP to use span-wire assemblies. They are almost exclusively orientated horizontally in the Panhandle, though you will find vertical installs in some urban areas. Occasionally a span-wire assembly will still be used, and from my understanding some assemblies, such as the one remaining in Gulf Breeze, are taken down prior to a hurricane.

[deathtopumpkins]

Pretty much all the signals that I remember seeing here in Virginia are vertical.

We use horizontal ones in certain areas--namely downtown Phoebus around here, which has dozens of horizontal signals.

[florida]

I've noticed that different areas in Florida mount traffic lights differently. Some areas are predominantly horizontal and some are almost exclusively vertical.

Horizontal:
SE Florida (specifically, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties)
Florida Panhandle (haven't been there enough to be more specific)
Gainesville area (and perhaps other surrounding counties)

Vertical:
SW Florida
Tampa
Orlando/Central Florida
Space/Treasure Coasts
Jacksonville

A couple of horizontal ones popped up here in Orlando, both next to overpasses. Gainesville and areas west of and including Lake City (excluding Madison and Perry) use them exclusively, but none of the surrounding counties have any. I doubt Jacksonville will ever transition to them; they are way too thrifty with the old ones they already have.

[xcellntbuy]

Until recently, Broward County, Florida had nearly all of its thousands of traffic lights in the vertical position, the large majority hanging from wires strung between prestressed concrete transmission poles.  Since just before Hurricane Wilma, (October 24, 2005) the wire-strung traffic lights have been in a state of phased replacement with large steel arms, many painted all black and some silver metallic.

When Hurricane Wilma destroyed hundreds of traffic signals, changes were beginning to be made to reorient traffic lights into the horizontal position.  Some recent installations of new traffic signals can be found along University Drive in Sunrise, Tamarac and Coral Springs, the newest installation of twenty new traffic lights each can be found at the intersections of University Drive and Commercial Blvd. and University Drive and McNab Road, both in Tamarac.

[Marc]

Problem with the Houston area is that they mount them using sandpipe that contains a 90° turn in it, which essentially allows them to more or less "hang."

[UptownRoadGeek]

Problem with the Houston area is that they mount them using sandpipe that contains a 90° turn in it, which essentially allows them to more or less "hang."

This how N.O. was doing it up until this year.  They are fixed directly to the pole, but after any big storm, they'll be thrown all across the street the next morning. It will be interesting to see how the new ones hold up during the summer since they've gone to vertical.



Typical suburban NOLA setup:

[realjd]

I forgot that Louisiana uses green paint for their signals. Very unique!

[burgess87]

I'm a huge fan of horizontal signals.  Wish NY did 'em that way.

[Ian]

I forgot that Louisiana uses green paint for their signals. Very unique!

There are numerous signals in Maine, New Hampshire, and in New York that are green.

[deathtopumpkins]

As well as a number of them in Newport News, VA, on Oyster Point Road (VA-171) between I-64 and Jefferson Ave (VA-143), plus other various ones in Hampton Roads.

[jdb1234]

There are a few signals in Birmingham that are mounted horizontally.  However, most are mounted vertically.

[Brandon]

I forgot that Louisiana uses green paint for their signals. Very unique!

There are numerous signals in Maine, New Hampshire, and in New York that are green.

The City of Chicago (CDOT) does likewise.  They even go so far as to paint the mastarms dark green.

[Ian]

Same with New Hampshire. There are also many mast arms around Florida that are dark green.