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Traffic Signals that are not used as such, but as becaons

Started by roadman65, September 23, 2013, 02:07:49 PM

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roadman65

In Florida we have four signals in Kissimme, FL that were installed and withing days the County of Osceola decided to set them to flash 24/7 because a study proved that the traffic counts did not warrant them.

We even have one on US 1 near the Kennedy Space Center that has flashed for the 23 years I have lived in Florida, however, I do not know the history of this signal.

In addition you had the one in Volusia County, FL just west of I-95 on  US 92 that flashed for years, and was recently activated as it was an event signal in the past when the Volusia County Stadium was in use.  Then in Downtown Orlando, the one a the Rosalind Avenue off ramp of FL 408 Westbound flashed throughout the early 90's to become fully operational when the City of Orlando decided to do a city wide project of reconfiguring streets that then made this a working signal.

In Plainfield, NJ there was one on Watchung Avenue at Third Street that was a flasher and never operated, so I imagine there are many of these that are used that way for many reasons.  I have not visited Plainfield since I lived there in the 80's so I cannot say what it is now, but nonetheless it was a signal that should have been a beacon.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe


TEG24601

Aside from fully functional traffic signals that are mounted in front of Fire Stations and simply flash until a truck needs to leave, I have only seen this situation on a temporary basis.


The one that instantly comes to mind was at the Intersection of Glenwood, Chevrolet, and 2nd St. in Flint, MI.  There was some incident at the intersection and it sat flashing as a 4-way stop for nearly 9 months, before coming back online, with the addition of a left turn segment from one direction.


Upon further reflection, the other one that comes to mind was also in Flint, was on Grand Traverse and 1st Street.  The signals have since been replaced with single flashing lights, but prior to the removal of most of the one-way streets in downtown Flint, the intersection has two, four-way signals at the intersection that flashed yellow in both directions on Grand Traverse (even though it was one-way Southbound), and red along 1st St.
They said take a left at the fork in the road.  I didn't think they literally meant a fork, until plain as day, there was a fork sticking out of the road at a junction.

realjd

The corner of US1 and Masterson in Melbourne has this. It's set to permanently flash yellow on US1 (with a flashing red arrow for the left turn) and to flash red on Masterson. It's tied in to the nearby railroad crossing though and when a train is approaching, it gives US1 a red light and Masterson a green to clear out any cars queuing up on the tracks. I guess traffic didn't warrant a permanent light there but it is present for safety purposes.

hbelkins

There's a traffic signal at the intersection of Maple Street and Boone Avenue in Winchester, KY (where southbound KY 627 turns from Maple to Boone, and northbound does vice versa) that has been there since I can remember, and definitely dating back to the late 1970s. It flashes red in all four directions and serves as a four-way stop. You can see the back of a stop sign in the link below. There's been a new set of lights installed there in recent years but a set of signals was installed instead of flashers.

http://goo.gl/maps/7KE5W


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

froggie

In my Mississippi days, I recall passing several locations with old traffic signals that had long since been reprogrammed as flashing beacons.  Don't remember any offhand, though...

NE2

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".

The High Plains Traveler

When the Pueblo West Walmart was built around 2006, Pueblo County insisted on a signal on the far northeast corner of the site http://goo.gl/maps/IxVFa - at Walmart's expense of course. The rationale was that traffic would be using that street for access onto Industrial Blvd. Instead, traffic (including me) exits to Industrial on a drive in the middle of the development that has no signal, nor does it need it. WIthin three months of Walmart opening, the signal was placed on yellow/red flash and has been there ever since. Another similar situation is at a shopping center on the far north side of Pueblo, where a signal at Wills Blvd. and Elizabeth Street http://goo.gl/maps/jiFFM has been on flash since it was installed. I think the intention is to wait until there is additional development and Wills Blvd. is extended to the west, which would give more through traffic than just people coming out of Kohl's. I would bet that both of these signals will still be on flash five years from now.
"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."

hm insulators

Many years ago on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, just south of Koloa was one of those signals that flashed yellow for Poipu Road (the main road between Koloa and Poipu) and red for a private dirt road used by truckers hauling freshly harvested sugar cane to the mill. The idea was for the cane haulers to trigger the light to turn green for them by activating a control in the truck, but most of the time, the truckers were in no hurry (they were on "Hawaiian Time") and were content to just simply wait for a gap in the traffic.
Remember: If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

I'd rather be a child of the road than a son of a ditch.


At what age do you tell a highway that it's been adopted?

jeffandnicole

Bridge St in Trenton, approaching the Trenton Makes Bridge.  Flashing yellow for the thru traffic, flashing red left arrow for left turning traffic.  Never seen it do anything otherwise in the 15 years I've worked up here in Trenton.

Kacie Jane

Seattle, WA, 6th Ave NE & Pacific St.  It's an all-way stop, and always has been AFAIK.  Full traffic signals were installed a few years ago, but I've never seen them do anything but flash red.

PHLBOS

In Woodlyn (Ridley Twp., Delaware County) PA

MacDade Blvd. approaching the I-476 North on-ramp.  These signals have been on flash mode since they were erected in the late 80s (before 476 opened).

http://goo.gl/maps/ke5p9
GPS does NOT equal GOD

roadman

In Malden (MA), there are two full signal installations by the MBTA Orange Line (rapid transit) station that have been operating on flash since they were installed.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Sanctimoniously

This signal at Jackson and Harrison in downtown Monroe (LA) has flashed for as long as I can remember.

http://goo.gl/maps/a0ENT
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 22, 2013, 06:27:29 AM
[tt]wow                 very cringe
        such clearview          must photo
much clinch      so misalign         wow[/tt]

See it. Live it. Love it. Verdana.

lepidopteran

How about the signal in downtown Radiator Springs in the movie "Cars"?  Though it flashed yellow both ways IIRC. There was also an audible load switch.

The hamlet of Arcanum, OH has a unique signal that flashes red in all directions (if it's still present).  They are/were Crouse-Hinds art deco signals placed horizontally in vintage mounts, and had STOP command lenses for the reds only.  At least one of the other lenses was a smiley.  I think there are fixed, standard STOP signs present as well.

In Oklahoma City, there was a signal in the parking lot for Crossroads Mall which always flashed.  It was at a T-intersection, just before the "T" road crossed a (very) busy railroad track.  When a train came, the parallel road went steady green, while the Right Turn Signal/No Turn on Red (ball) went red, preventing you from turning across the tracks.  Not sure if there was a corresponding Left Turn Signal.  The whole installation has since been removed.

As I kid, I used to see a traffic signal that was always in flash mode between NJ-18 and the tollbooths serving NJ Turnpike Exit 9.  I think the cross street was the access road for the NJ Turnpike Authority buildings to the upper right.  The signal was removed in the mid-70s.

In Columbus, OH, a signal would be put in Flash mode with a sign on the span-wire reading "This signal under study for removal".

Finally, honorable mention goes to a signal in Toledo, OH.  At the corner of Central Ave. and Drummond Rd. in West Toledo, there's a R-Y-G traffic signal that's in flash mode at least 90% of the time, with yellow going to Central and red to Drummond.  It's there because of a fire station whose driveway is a few yards west of the intersection.  So heading east on Central, there's a "Stop Here on Red" sign at the intersection (sign only used for "special occasions"), and a similar "Stop Here on Fire Run" just short of the driveway; I assume the signal goes all-red in an emergency, though I never saw it.  But the signal appears to have a second purpose: it switches to stop-go operation for about an hour in the morning and in the afternoon, when the nearby Grove Patterson elementary school gets in and out.  This might explain why the signal was installed at the corner, rather than right at the driveway.
(Note: it's possible that this signal is now in stop-go mode 24/7, maybe due to traffic count increases.  Anyone know for sure?)

agentsteel53

Quote from: lepidopteran on September 25, 2013, 04:39:34 PMAt least one of the other lenses was a smiley. 

was the smiley ever an active light?

it seems like either a very whimsical town meeting ("guys, we have 60 bucks left in the traffic control budget we gotta use up before the end of the year") or an elaborate act of vandalism.
live from sunny San Diego.

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lepidopteran

Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 25, 2013, 04:53:25 PM
Quote from: lepidopteran on September 25, 2013, 04:39:34 PMAt least one of the other lenses was a smiley. 

was the smiley ever an active light?

It probably was, if the signal was ever in stop-go operation.

For the uninitiated, Crouse-Hinds "smiley" lenses have a banana-like "smile" pattern on the bottom of the bead pattern.

Two examples may be found at The Traffic Signal Museum, rare lenses page: http://home.comcast.net/~jab8356/rarelenses.htm

agentsteel53

#16
Quote from: lepidopteran on September 25, 2013, 05:20:37 PM
For the uninitiated, Crouse-Hinds "smiley" lenses have a banana-like "smile" pattern on the bottom of the bead pattern.

I am uninitiated.  I had thought a "smiley" was analogous to a STOP, except the masked areas were the eyes and the mouth, revealing a standard 1970s yellow/black smiley face. 



thus my idea that it was either an elaborate act of vandalism, or the last town meeting of the year resulting in "I nominate that we spend the last 60 bucks to paint smiley faces on the yellow signals in the town".
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

NE2

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".

PurdueBill

This one at Portside Drive (an office/industrial park driveway) and OH 18 has been reduced to a flashing beacon, but with the full signals (including westbound doghouse) left in place--even with diode signal heads.  They scrubbed off the stop bars on 18 and added a stop sign for the side street, so the signals are certainly on full-time beacon duty now.

US71

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

froggie


PHLBOS

Quote from: froggie on September 27, 2013, 06:18:41 AM
Were those middle bulbs flashing yellow or red?
Given the presence of that STOP sign, I would assume red.  It looks red to me.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

roadman

Quote from: PHLBOS on September 27, 2013, 08:47:49 AM
Quote from: froggie on September 27, 2013, 06:18:41 AM
Were those middle bulbs flashing yellow or red?
Given the presence of that STOP sign, I would assume red.  It looks red to me.
They look red to me also.  Wonder if they flash alternately in a "wig-wag" pattern.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

froggie

Couldn't tell from the image if they were red or not...hence the question.

US71

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast



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