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Started by Alex, August 18, 2009, 12:34:57 AM

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Dougtone

Quote from: upstatenyroads on October 01, 2013, 04:19:17 PM
I have to admit that I have NEVER seen an upside down marker (other than NY 69 or NY 96) like that in the Empire State.

Wow.  Just Wow.

NY 337 in Rotterdam has a bunch of these upside down shields as well.  I shake my head every time I see that, which is somewhat often.


hubcity

Quote from: roadman on September 17, 2013, 02:21:07 PM
From the Social Security Administration's FAQ:

-Didn't the government promise that SSNs wouldn't be used for ID?

For the first few decades that SSN cards were issued, they carried the admonition: "Not to be used for Identification." Unfortunately there was never any law passed instituting this as a policy.

And I since I have a card that says that, I have a new entry for the "You know you're too old when..." thread.

PColumbus73

I noticed on Google Maps that I-99 is labeled up to Corning, NY. Are they jumping the gun here?

cpzilliacus

N.Y. Times: City to Fit All Streetlights With Energy-Saving LED Bulbs

QuoteThe amber glow of the New York City streetlight is going away. In an energy-saving effort, the city plans to replace all of its 250,000 streetlights with brighter, whiter, energy-saving, light-emitting diode fixtures in one of the nation's largest retrofitting projects, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, said in a news conference on Thursday.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

WNYroadgeek

Quote from: PColumbus73 on October 17, 2013, 11:15:14 AM
I noticed on Google Maps that I-99 is labeled up to Corning, NY. Are they jumping the gun here?

Yep. The designation hasn't even been extended to WIlliamsport yet, much less Corning.

Mr_Northside

Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 24, 2013, 09:49:59 PM
N.Y. Times: City to Fit All Streetlights With Energy-Saving LED Bulbs

Pittsburgh switched the streetlights on my street to LED either last Thursday or Friday. 
They had switched streetlights in city parks a few years ago, then along important streets in neighborhood business districts the last year or so.
The plan is to switch them all city-wide eventually.
I don't have opinions anymore. All I know is that no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything

SignBridge

How do you like the LED streetlights so far? How do they compare to the previous (high or low pressure sodium vapor?) lights re: the way they illuminate the street? The town next to mine is changing over too and I'm curious as to what others think of the LED lights.

kkt

Don't like ours installed a couple of years ago in Seattle.  They're way brighter than the previous lights.  I'm not sure why a front yard needs to be lit up like home plate at a night game.  Need heavy curtains.

The light is also an ugly greyish blue that makes people look about a week dead.

iwishiwascanadian

Quote from: SignBridge on October 28, 2013, 07:35:43 PM
How do you like the LED streetlights so far? How do they compare to the previous (high or low pressure sodium vapor?) lights re: the way they illuminate the street? The town next to mine is changing over too and I'm curious as to what others think of the LED lights.
They are getting put up throughout Baltimore City and I'm not much of a fan.  They aren't as warm as the old lights and seem to be dimmer.  The orange glow from the old lights helped to see pedestrians and other things along the street.

NJRoadfan

NJ seems to have been spared the glare of LEDs, at least in areas served by PSE&G. They opted for induction street lighting. Apparently its cheaper than LEDs and lasts about the same. It looks like they are targeting all the old mercury vapor cobra heads first. I haven't seen too many areas with HPS or even incandescent fixtures upgraded yet.

http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2009/09/new_energy-efficient_streetlig.html
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110106005773/en/Lighting-Tech-Ships-100000th-Induction-Lighting-Unit

Biggest complaint with them is the sharp cutoff fixtures, but a lot less light pollution compared to HPS fixtures.

dlainhart

#160
Quote from: vdeane on June 26, 2012, 02:32:04 PM
Not that any NYSDOT region is really normal, for that matter.  They all have some strange quirk.
You're definitely right. However,  given that I was raised in it and live in it, I'll never be able to put my finger on what makes NYSDOT Region 9 so Region 9.

What is it?

D-Dey65

Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 24, 2013, 09:49:59 PM
N.Y. Times: City to Fit All Streetlights With Energy-Saving LED Bulbs

QuoteThe amber glow of the New York City streetlight is going away. In an energy-saving effort, the city plans to replace all of its 250,000 streetlights with brighter, whiter, energy-saving, light-emitting diode fixtures in one of the nation's largest retrofitting projects, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, said in a news conference on Thursday.
I'm actually going to miss those.

dlainhart

Quote from: D-Dey65 on October 29, 2013, 11:02:42 AM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 24, 2013, 09:49:59 PM
N.Y. Times: City to Fit All Streetlights With Energy-Saving LED Bulbs

QuoteThe amber glow of the New York City streetlight is going away. In an energy-saving effort, the city plans to replace all of its 250,000 streetlights with brighter, whiter, energy-saving, light-emitting diode fixtures in one of the nation's largest retrofitting projects, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, said in a news conference on Thursday.
I'm actually going to miss those.
Hellooooooooo light pollution, and hi to circadian rhythm disorders too! I can't wait for the unintended consequences.

Dylan T. Lainhart / Binghamton, N.Y.


Henry

Quote from: kkt on October 28, 2013, 11:32:48 PM
Don't like ours installed a couple of years ago in Seattle.  They're way brighter than the previous lights.  I'm not sure why a front yard needs to be lit up like home plate at a night game.  Need heavy curtains.

The light is also an ugly greyish blue that makes people look about a week dead.

Remember, though, that back in 1970, no one liked the yellowish-orange glow of sodium vapor lights either, but in the years since, most, if not all, have been accustomed to seeing them at night.

I may be in the minority here, but I actually favor the LED lights over the sodium, particularly because of that soft blue light compared to the harsh orange of the older ones.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

dlainhart

Quote from: Henry on October 29, 2013, 02:09:48 PM
Remember, though, that back in 1970, no one liked the yellowish-orange glow of sodium vapor lights either, but in the years since, most, if not all, have been accustomed to seeing them at night.

I may be in the minority here, but I actually favor the LED lights over the sodium, particularly because of that soft blue light compared to the harsh orange of the older ones.
Learn your lights. You're referring to low-pressure sodium. The modern lights are high-pressure sodium. There is a huge difference, and yes, LPS lights are awful.

Until recent renovations, the Cross Country Mall in Yonkers, NY, featured old LPS lamps. I know what the hell I'm talking about.

The effects of nocturnal blue light exposure on such a scale will be catastrophic. Go read up on the literature. We don't need the entire Big Apple pounding everyone's melanopsin receptors so hard it starts (subtly) killing people.

Dylan T. Lainhart / Binghamton, N.Y.

vdeane

Quote from: dlainhart on October 29, 2013, 01:35:12 AM
Quote from: vdeane on June 26, 2012, 02:32:04 PM
Not that any NYSDOT region is really normal, for that matter.  They all have some strange quirk.
You're definitely right. However,  given that I was raised in it and live in it, I'll never be able to put my finger on what makes NYSDOT Region 9 so Region 9.

What is it?

Work zones without lowered speed limits?  The majority of work zones I've passed through in region 9 just left the posted speed limit intact (the only exceptions I can think of right now are Kamikaze Curve and some work NYSDOT was doing on I-88 near Belden in August 2011), in contrast to, well, anywhere else.

Also: not numbering freeway/freeway interchanges (though this used to be the norm in region 3 as well)
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

dlainhart

Quote from: vdeane on October 29, 2013, 08:08:23 PM
Work zones without lowered speed limits?  The majority of work zones I've passed through in region 9 just left the posted speed limit intact (the only exceptions I can think of right now are Kamikaze Curve and some work NYSDOT was doing on I-88 near Belden in August 2011), in contrast to, well, anywhere else.

Also: not numbering freeway/freeway interchanges (though this used to be the norm in region 3 as well)

Good point on both accounts. The former is definitely a new innovation that probably is really a reduction from 80 to 65.

The second is a time-honored tradition that always made sense to me.

Dylan T. Lainhart / Binghamton, N.Y.


Duke87

I've always hated sodium lights of all forms because they render color so poorly (that orange light you see is pretty much the only wavelength they emit, there is no spectral variety), and because orange is a hot color and it just clashes with the night. It's jarring. I always liked the mercury vapor lamps which were still somewhat common when I was a kid because the cool blue glow of them was soothing.

LEDs can come in all sorts of colors but the best ones should be close to white. Which is great because that means they render color better. And their brightness serves drivers, cyclists and pedestrians well, since it's easier to see stuff. Yeah, you don't want it shining in your face while you're trying to sleep, but it isn't... it's out on the street. And if outside light is bothering you, that's what curtains and blinds are for.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

Henry

Quote from: dlainhart on October 29, 2013, 02:43:14 PM
Quote from: Henry on October 29, 2013, 02:09:48 PM
Remember, though, that back in 1970, no one liked the yellowish-orange glow of sodium vapor lights either, but in the years since, most, if not all, have been accustomed to seeing them at night.

I may be in the minority here, but I actually favor the LED lights over the sodium, particularly because of that soft blue light compared to the harsh orange of the older ones.
Learn your lights. You're referring to low-pressure sodium. The modern lights are high-pressure sodium. There is a huge difference, and yes, LPS lights are awful.

Until recent renovations, the Cross Country Mall in Yonkers, NY, featured old LPS lamps. I know what the hell I'm talking about.

The effects of nocturnal blue light exposure on such a scale will be catastrophic. Go read up on the literature. We don't need the entire Big Apple pounding everyone's melanopsin receptors so hard it starts (subtly) killing people.

Dylan T. Lainhart / Binghamton, N.Y.

I meant to say high-pressure sodium lights in my original post, but you were right about everything else. Mercury vapor lights were always my favorite, because of the soft blue light they gave off.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

ARMOURERERIC

FWIW, Caltrans had installed LED lighting at Exit 65, I-8, just down the street from me.  It's odd seeing a "cobra head" with a square illumination field.  The lighting seems just slightly blue of an outright white, it illuminated the pavement well, and had a greatly reduced light pollution aspect, which is very beneficial out here being that my area is becoming big into amature astronomy.

PColumbus73

Random question: What is the best way to get through the New York City metro area? I was looking at I-95 with GSV and the section on 95 through Manhattan looks like the most frightening piece of Interstate in the country. I don't think other freeways (like the BQE) would be any better.

NE2

Quote from: PColumbus73 on November 04, 2013, 08:42:11 PM
Random question: What is the best way to get through the New York City metro area?
By train.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

froggie

QuoteRandom question: What is the best way to get through the New York City metro area?

Staying well north, if your intent is to just pass through the region.  Unless I have something else going on, I often go all the way up to Troy to cross the Hudson on my trips up to Vermont.

QuoteBy train.

As long as there isn't an issue under the Hudson or getting through the Harold Interlock...

vdeane

Quote from: PColumbus73 on November 04, 2013, 08:42:11 PM
Random question: What is the best way to get through the New York City metro area? I was looking at I-95 with GSV and the section on 95 through Manhattan looks like the most frightening piece of Interstate in the country. I don't think other freeways (like the BQE) would be any better.
Eh, it's not TOO bad.  Just make sure to hit it at an odd time, like early Sunday morning, and stay in the left lane at all costs.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

agentsteel53

Quote from: PColumbus73 on November 04, 2013, 08:42:11 PM
Random question: What is the best way to get through the New York City metro area? I was looking at I-95 with GSV and the section on 95 through Manhattan looks like the most frightening piece of Interstate in the country. I don't think other freeways (like the BQE) would be any better.

when I lived out east, I'd avoid it by taking I-84 to I-380 to I-81.

(I looked on Google Maps - is it just me or are 84 and 380 now cosigned so that 84 ends at 81?)
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com



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