In old photographs, you always see street lights hanging dead center over the street on wires, but you never see these anymore, even in the most stuck-in-the-past small towns.
When did they stop installing them, when were they all removed by, and why are there none still around despite so many other old things still being in use?
There's still a few out and about. Here's one in Johnson City, TN.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi67.tinypic.com%2Fi24pw6.png&hash=e9b6dcbeff47a4f5833d2b10dbec5390f73bbb86)
There are some remaining in Milwaukee: https://www.google.com/maps/place/N+Lovers+Lane+Rd+%26+W+Bobolink+Ave,+Milwaukee,+WI+53225/@43.1246094,-88.0554433,3a,75y,1.79h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWdgSRa9jTxXU42zuDwdDvQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DWdgSRa9jTxXU42zuDwdDvQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D1.7853951%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x88050256aec8c6a7:0x45428082ec7a457d!8m2!3d43.1246728!4d-88.0554849 (https://www.google.com/maps/place/N+Lovers+Lane+Rd+%26+W+Bobolink+Ave,+Milwaukee,+WI+53225/@43.1246094,-88.0554433,3a,75y,1.79h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWdgSRa9jTxXU42zuDwdDvQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DWdgSRa9jTxXU42zuDwdDvQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D1.7853951%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x88050256aec8c6a7:0x45428082ec7a457d!8m2!3d43.1246728!4d-88.0554849)
Sorry, I don't know how to make a shorter link.
Rare as hen's teeth in CA; the only time I've seen them used was in temporary installations within construction zones. Seen a few in the Northwest; there were some in Portland when I was living there 25 years ago, mostly either out in the east end between I-205 and Gresham or Sandy, or along the US 30 corridor NW toward St. Helens. I remember during storms they would be swinging around pretty dramatically (although partially tethered so directionality could be maintained). I would imagine most have been replaced by fixed masts and arms by now.
Quote from: Brian556 on October 09, 2018, 08:07:08 PM
In old photographs, you always see street lights hanging dead center over the street on wires, but you never see these anymore, even in the most stuck-in-the-past small towns.
When did they stop installing them, when were they all removed by, and why are there none still around despite so many other old things still being in use?
Are you asking about night-illuminating street lights, or RYG traffic lights?
Quote from: Big John on October 09, 2018, 08:36:20 PM
There are some remaining in Milwaukee: https://goo.gl/maps/Yx2U2u1to2J2 (https://goo.gl/maps/Yx2U2u1to2J2)
You beat me too it. I instantly thought of my grandparent's old neighborhood...I remember seeing them as a kid. As of at least 2016, they're still there too: 68th St, Milwaukee (https://goo.gl/maps/ETqzxNmq5TM2)
Big John: To get the shorter link in Street View, click on the vertical series of 3 dots in the upper left corner of the window. That will open a window with an option to share a link to the image
Everything's that old is new again. (https://goo.gl/maps/JiVzhYTmBxx)
Quote from: davewiecking on October 09, 2018, 09:04:29 PM
Quote from: Brian556 on October 09, 2018, 08:07:08 PM
In old photographs, you always see street lights hanging dead center over the street on wires, but you never see these anymore, even in the most stuck-in-the-past small towns.
When did they stop installing them, when were they all removed by, and why are there none still around despite so many other old things still being in use?
Are you asking about night-illuminating street lights, or RYG traffic lights?
I'd say the streetlights that turn on at night, which probably haven't been done since the 60s or 70s; there are still tons of RYG traffic signals that hang from wires in many places.
The op said Street lights, not traffic lights. They're relatively common in some European urban areas.
The weird thing is I find wire-hung streetlights elegant and pleasant but spanwire traffic lights almost always cheap looking and lazy.
Pixel 2
Like this in Crystal Falls, Michigan?
https://goo.gl/maps/TVY1K6Xz4iP2
I've seen pics of that kind of streetlight setup before, it's an interesting look, but I like side mountings on poles (or middle posts if there is a median strip) better. ISTR a brief time several years ago on a block or 2 of Mockingbird Lane east of US 75 in Dallas where there were span-wire streetlights down the middle of the street. I'm not sure how long they were there, but it wasn't very long, and I didn't hear why they were there or why they were removed.
I remember seeing a bunch of them on rural roads in Michigan, mostly at crossroads.
http://www.millenniumhwy.net/2009_Gd_Rapids_Day_2/Pages/231.html
I can't recall ever seeing these. Traffic lights, though, there's quite a few.
Rochester NY installed new street lights on wires a couple of years ago, Downtown, on the new Cortland St, as part of it's Midtown project:
https://goo.gl/maps/33yPNZFtP3y (https://goo.gl/maps/33yPNZFtP3y)
I just saw a bunch of these on Saturday all over northern lower Michigan. They're located at intersections all over the place, especially on the state highway network.
Plenty near me:
https://goo.gl/maps/UBZafYaQrQB2
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on October 17, 2018, 08:41:02 AM
Plenty near me:
https://goo.gl/maps/UBZafYaQrQB2
Those are stoplights, not streetlights.
Very common in Denmark, and they even attach the span wires to the buildings so you don't have any poles. The Cincinnati area has two specific locations for this sort of thing, one is on Beechmont Levee where the lights need to be low for the approach to Lunken Airport: https://goo.gl/maps/edznf3BVwS52 There's also a couple along Miami Avenue in Madeira: https://goo.gl/maps/xMxqi7cpPL52 There's a few others scattered around the city itself for lighting at oddly shaped intersections, but those are just a matter of circumstance rather than any standard. This particular location in Walnut Hills also shows some very rare hanging ped signals along with the light: https://goo.gl/maps/374h93qtL3v They really didn't want to run conduit to that island (not that they haven't dropped wires from above in other places).
Quote from: jjakucyk on October 19, 2018, 02:32:18 PM
This particular location in Walnut Hills also shows some very rare hanging ped signals along with the light: https://goo.gl/maps/374h93qtL3v They really didn't want to run conduit to that island (not that they haven't dropped wires from above in other places).
That's interesting...And odd.
Pixel 2
Quote from: billpa on October 21, 2018, 09:23:00 AM
Quote from: jjakucyk on October 19, 2018, 02:32:18 PM
This particular location in Walnut Hills also shows some very rare hanging ped signals along with the light: https://goo.gl/maps/374h93qtL3v They really didn't want to run conduit to that island (not that they haven't dropped wires from above in other places).
That's interesting...And odd.
Pixel 2
Wtf....... I've never seen a setup such as this. I guess anything is possible, we could hang the street lights like that too.
iPhone
Overhead light wiring in Tacoma:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1924/45558993182_c7d981ff61_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cpTKqs)Overhead wire lights in Tacoma (https://flic.kr/p/2cpTKqs) by Arthur Allen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/116988743@N07/), on Flickr
Only one I can think of in Portland, at NE 17th Ave and Sandy Blvd: https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5249827,-122.648195,3a,75y,241.94h,94.24t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sU3Ps_MBrERuT3PFWX9byxg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on October 28, 2018, 11:37:48 PM
Overhead light wiring in Tacoma:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1924/45558993182_c7d981ff61_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cpTKqs)Overhead wire lights in Tacoma (https://flic.kr/p/2cpTKqs) by Arthur Allen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/116988743@N07/), on Flickr
Back-in angled parking?
Interesting.
Mike
Quote from: mgk920 on October 29, 2018, 09:59:15 AM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on October 28, 2018, 11:37:48 PM
Overhead light wiring in Tacoma:
*snip
Back-in angled parking?
Interesting.
Mike
It's becoming more and more of a thing. Here's an example on 200 South in Salt Lake City (https://goo.gl/maps/gsvSuiuAqwT2), with a Mercedes who apparently figured he didn't need to follow the sign.
Seattle used to have lots of ped signals on wires, but they've mostly been replaced now.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1909/44902306664_dccfee00f4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2bpS4p7)Walk sign on a wire, 15th & John, Seattle (https://flic.kr/p/2bpS4p7) by Arthur Allen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/116988743@N07/), on Flickr
I finally found one of the older (functional, non-stylish) lights on a wire in Seattle: https://goo.gl/maps/jUTMXqq4Gs62
Quote from: US 89 on October 29, 2018, 01:40:05 PM
Quote from: mgk920 on October 29, 2018, 09:59:15 AM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on October 28, 2018, 11:37:48 PM
Overhead light wiring in Tacoma:
*snip
Back-in angled parking?
Interesting.
Mike
It's becoming more and more of a thing. Here's an example on 200 South in Salt Lake City (https://goo.gl/maps/gsvSuiuAqwT2), with a Mercedes who apparently figured he didn't need to follow the sign.
The fact that it's still novel in most of the country is strange to me considering how long we've been doing it in NYC. It's so much safer and much easier to pull out.
Quote from: NoGoodNamesAvailable on October 30, 2018, 12:46:09 AM
Quote from: US 89 on October 29, 2018, 01:40:05 PM
Quote from: mgk920 on October 29, 2018, 09:59:15 AM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on October 28, 2018, 11:37:48 PM
Overhead light wiring in Tacoma:
*snip
Back-in angled parking?
Interesting.
Mike
It's becoming more and more of a thing. Here's an example on 200 South in Salt Lake City (https://goo.gl/maps/gsvSuiuAqwT2), with a Mercedes who apparently figured he didn't need to follow the sign.
The fact that it's still novel in most of the country is strange to me considering how long we've been doing it in NYC. It's so much safer and much easier to pull out.
It's becoming easier and easier for drivers thanks to rear-view cameras that are becoming standard on newer vehicles.
Downing Street, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181116/af694daff8b8140fe9a8a1bc147e7ad8.jpg)
SM-G892A
Street lights or traffic lights?
Suburban Denver has traffic lights on wires all over the place, especially Arvada.
Quote from: mrose on November 17, 2018, 12:00:25 AM
Street lights or traffic lights?
Suburban Denver has traffic lights on wires all over the place, especially Arvada.
Streets lights. I think all traffic lights, either started on poles or hung by pole & wire.
iPhone
Quote from: mrsman on November 12, 2018, 01:28:45 PM
Quote from: NoGoodNamesAvailable on October 30, 2018, 12:46:09 AM
Quote from: US 89 on October 29, 2018, 01:40:05 PM
Quote from: mgk920 on October 29, 2018, 09:59:15 AM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on October 28, 2018, 11:37:48 PM
Overhead light wiring in Tacoma:
*snip
Back-in angled parking?
Interesting.
Mike
It's becoming more and more of a thing. Here's an example on 200 South in Salt Lake City (https://goo.gl/maps/gsvSuiuAqwT2), with a Mercedes who apparently figured he didn't need to follow the sign.
The fact that it's still novel in most of the country is strange to me considering how long we've been doing it in NYC. It's so much safer and much easier to pull out.
It's becoming easier and easier for drivers thanks to rear-view cameras that are becoming standard on newer vehicles.
WTF!!!!
um.... so this is weird. I love parking garages as well as roads, and I always associate angled parking with pulling in.....
WTF!!!
Quote from: MCRoads on November 21, 2018, 09:27:10 PM
WTF!!!!
um.... so this is weird. I love parking garages as well as roads, and I always associate angled parking with pulling in.....
WTF!!!
Drivers hit bicyclists too much when we let them back out of parking spaces, so now we make them pull forward out of parking spaces so they hit them less.
Quote from: NoGoodNamesAvailable on November 21, 2018, 11:20:27 PM
Quote from: MCRoads on November 21, 2018, 09:27:10 PM
WTF!!!!
um.... so this is weird. I love parking garages as well as roads, and I always associate angled parking with pulling in.....
WTF!!!
Drivers hit bicyclists too much when we let them back out of parking spaces, so now we make them pull forward out of parking spaces so they hit them less.
Correct. And in areas with high bicycle traffic (which tends to correlate to a degree with high pedestrian traffic) like NYC, more and more angled parking on the street tends to be back in. But I imagine that the trend is not extending to parking lots and structures. And in small towns where there aren't huge bike traffic, it is unlikely that the city will repaint the lines (to reorient parking from front-in to back-in) because if it ain't broken don't fix it.
Michigan uses them at almost every intersection on rural state highways.
Atlanta has several non-functioning streetlights hanging on wires. I have submitted requests over the years to remove them or getting them working again. They are just debris hanging over Piedmont Ave near Piedmont Park for 50 years and counting if they don't work.
A few years ago they repaired one on Cheshire Br. road and it was on every night until it was apparently shot or hit by something, now just a carcass.
Quote from: architect77 on December 27, 2018, 09:26:38 PM
Atlanta has several non-functioning streetlights hanging on wires. I have submitted requests over the years to remove them or getting them working again. They are just debris hanging over Piedmont Ave near Piedmont Park for 50 years and counting if they don't work.
A few years ago they repaired one on Cheshire Br. road and it was on every night until it was apparently shot or hit by something, now just a carcass.
Now that you mention it, Atlanta also has several examples of pedestrian signals hanging from overhead wires. Here's an example at Howell Mill Rd and Huff Rd (https://goo.gl/maps/e5YKY6JdVut), and another at Lake Avenue and North Avenue (https://goo.gl/maps/b4GsCBVyNoz).