Dead or malfunctioning traffic signals

[Buffaboy]

Do you know of cities or regions that fail to maintain their signals, to the point that they end up like this?

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0906342,-75.2222505,3a,42.5y,289.73h,93.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suzDkGwJ-iRY81OFbmw_QhQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

edit: that isn't a dead signal, but I know Utica is known to have them nontheless, here are (I think) removed signals:

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0885266,-75.1859827,3a,75y,79.89h,85.2t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFO0YrSjJIjrgugpsFhvvHg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0927045,-75.1955571,3a,43.3y,313.54h,86.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbEyDdeJ0_ZRy7lc19tx8nw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Big John]

Some panning showed those appear to be in flash mode.

There were recent pictures of dead signals in Gary IN.

[Mohkfry]

Gary, IN is loaded with dead and dying signals. I can post some street view links later if you want me to.

[thenetwork]

The last time I was in Erie, PA about 10 years ago, a number of signals in residential areas of the inner part of town were covered up with canvas bags.

If you count pedestrian crossing lights only, Youngstown, OH (again about 10 years ago) usually let those rot once they stopped working.  The only exception was in the immediate downtown area, where significent amounts of people would actually use the crosswaks.

[Mohkfry]

The last time I was in Erie, PA about 10 years ago, a number of signals in residential areas of the inner part of town were covered up with canvas bags.

If you count pedestrian crossing lights only, Youngstown, OH (again about 10 years ago) usually let those rot once they stopped working.  The only exception was in the immediate downtown area, where significent amounts of people would actually use the crosswaks.

That's the way Gary is. If a vehicular signal gets replaced (rare), all of the pedestrian signals at the intersection get new bulbs. Other than that, they sit unmaintained and rot away. If a pedestrian signal goes missing, forget it, its gone for good. That includes pedestrian signals around schools and "busy" areas.

All INDOT maintained signals are fully maintained, however.

[tradephoric]

Detroit has a bunch of poorly maintained traffic signals.  "All of em" are messed up.
http://www.trafficsignalmuseum.com/pages/detroit.html

In one case a signal head twisted and may have contributed to a fatal motorcycle accident.  Who knows how long it was twisted for but based on some of the neighbors interviews it sounds like it had been a problem for a while. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rrbvkjG7UQ

[roadman65]

Kenilworth, NJ used to have a part time signal on CR 509 at Market Street.  It would work during the weekdays, and be completely off (not even flash) for the rest of the time.  Then Union County redid all of its signals and put up full time working signals there in 1984, so that during off peak times it would use the detector loops to operate the signal while a default green appears on CR 509.

How it got past the MUTCD and the fact that a non operational signal is supposed to be treated as a four way stop that the Borough of Kenilworth allowed this set up to be the norm until the county brought in their own signaling later on is beyond me.

I know there is no abundance here, but its one of many situations that NJ used to have before modern signaling took place.  Washington Avenue and Blancke Street in Linden, NJ used to place a STOP sign on Washington during the Summer when school was out at the intersection by turning the signal out completely with no flash either.  Blancke was the complete road as Washington terminated at Blancke at a three way intersection, but again the City of Linden allowing a dead signal even though its obvious traveling there on Blancke that you are free flowing. In fact GSV shows it nowadays with an erected STOP sign on all threes while the light remains inactive.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Linden,+NJ/@40.633731,-74.2539172,3a,75y,338.06h,73.48t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQpVYsR9pdmS3RiKgZ_KrOw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DQpVYsR9pdmS3RiKgZ_KrOw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D119.37189%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c3b310880c1167:0x7decc01de2f073f8!6m1!1e1

[jeffandnicole]

Don't forget how LBI is mostly all dead signals during the off season. Default traffic flow is that LBI Blvd doesn't need to stop, with stop signs on the side streets.

[roadman65]

Don't forget how LBI is mostly all dead signals during the off season. Default traffic flow is that LBI Blvd doesn't need to stop, with stop signs on the side streets.

I think the MUTCD requires that even in flash mode for indefinite periods that a STOP sign be erected as Seaside Heights did back before it became the bedroom community it now is.  The signals, just like in LBI, would go to flash mode from Labor Day to Memorial Day and the red flashers would get an extra traffic control device.

I am to assume that on LBI they turn the signals completely off and not flash them in off seasons then?

[cl94]

Don't forget how LBI is mostly all dead signals during the off season. Default traffic flow is that LBI Blvd doesn't need to stop, with stop signs on the side streets.

I think the MUTCD requires that even in flash mode for indefinite periods that a STOP sign be erected as Seaside Heights did back before it became the bedroom community it now is.  The signals, just like in LBI, would go to flash mode from Labor Day to Memorial Day and the red flashers would get an extra traffic control device.

I am to assume that on LBI they turn the signals completely off and not flash them in off seasons then?

GSV from October 2008 shows them as off except for those maintained by NJDOT. New signals went in a couple years ago, so I don't know what happens now, but the posts were still up for signs to be mounted on.

[TEG24601]

When I was going to school in Flint, they actually maintained most of the signals quite well, with only a couple that had issues, but thankfully, whenever that happened they either turned off or switched to flashing lights.  There was one issue where a single light in a series that had been synchronized, went out of sync, and my buddy got a ticket from a cop who thought we had run the light (due to the other lights being red).  Of course that didn't prevent them from keeping light in place after the need left, or having a 4-way head at an intersection with two one way streets, or where one street had traffic traveling away from the intersection.  There were also a few cases of driveways meeting up with signalized intersections, and you really had to pay attention, because were signalized from the driveway and others were not... although those were largely in Flint TWP, instead of Flint proper.


In my home area, WSDOT and the cities seem to be on the ball at fixing things, especially after a storm.  However, we do have one light that was designed to provide special priority to school busses during the school week during normal bus times, but doesn't seem to perform that action on Mondays, but does on Saturdays, making me think it is a victim of Y2K, and running off of a bad calendar.

[hm insulators]

Detroit has a bunch of poorly maintained traffic signals.  "All of em" are messed up.
http://www.trafficsignalmuseum.com/pages/detroit.html

In one case a signal head twisted and may have contributed to a fatal motorcycle accident.  Who knows how long it was twisted for but based on some of the neighbors interviews it sounds like it had been a problem for a while. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rrbvkjG7UQ

That's not good!

[Buffaboy]

Has anyone ever noticed this before???:

[thenetwork]

Has anyone ever noticed this before???:

No, but I have seen a YT video of a malfunctioning light go through a whole cycle for both cross streets in under 2 seconds, repeating ad-nauseum.  It was about 3-4 years ago in Cleveland, but I cannot find the video.

[M3019C LPS20]

Here's a similar video. This one was recorded in Chicago, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6H9ywJ2Cko


Traffic signals on steroids...

[freebrickproductions]

Here are a couple of dead signals in East St. Louis, IL:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6234289,-90.1560674,3a,75y,54.57h,82.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5vzh9DzS4_1tns2TkTjWZg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6255405,-90.1513274,3a,75y,237.28h,83.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6pmis_qUNP9U9C3rPOcKpA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Found them via a Facebook post.

[traffic light guy]

Chester and Delaware County, PA had an abundance of malfunctioning or dead signals, the following pictures are a few examples, the signals themselves have been installed eons ago, but have only been abandoned for about a decade or so before getting either scrapped out by modern equipment or just removed out of the scene completely

https://plus.google.com/app/basic/photos/112892959944727527290/album/5289072406895916673/5303097392944738450?cbp=1dlbame7gsxun&authkey&sview=20&cid=5&soc-app=115&soc-platform=1&spath=/app/basic/photos/112892959944727527290/album/5289072406895916673&sparm=cbp%3D1nal81sv6vhx0%26authkey%26sview%3D20%26cid%3D5%26soc-app%3D115%26soc-platform%3D1%26pgpnum%3D11%26spath%3D/app/basic/photos%26sparm%3Dcbp%253D1nal81sv6vhx0%2526authkey%2526sview%253D20%2526cid%253D5%2526soc-app%253D115%2526soc-platform%253D1%2526pv%253Dhi%2526pgpnum%253D1

In the picture, all you can see is an ancient lingering signal head on the right side of the pole, decades ago this intersection was crawling with operating signals, by now most of which have either fell off the pole due to weather conditions or just removed. I'm assuming the signal is either a Crouse-Hinds or a Eagle Flatback.
Post Merge: January 16, 2016, 08:47:35 PM
https://plus.google.com/app/basic/photos/112892959944727527290/album/5289072406895916673/5303103152225428898?cbp=p4yt3y4b2mf2&authkey&sview=20&cid=5&soc-app=115&soc-platform=1&spath=/app/basic/photos/112892959944727527290/album/5289072406895916673&sparm=cbp%3D1idimpvgpv9kf%26authkey%26sview%3D20%26cid%3D5%26soc-app%3D115%26soc-platform%3D1%26pgpnum%3D12%26spath%3D/app/basic/photos%26sparm%3Dcbp%253D1idimpvgpv9kf%2526authkey%2526sview%253D20%2526cid%253D5%2526soc-app%253D115%2526soc-platform%253D1%2526pv%253Dhi%2526pgpnum%253D1

Here's an oldhead intersection, if you look at the side-mounted 8-inch signal heads on the right, they both appear to be dead or burned out, they're Marbelite Flattops by the way, just look how old and worn out they are, I feel old just from looking a them, the whole intersection is crawling with age, exept a few 1990s-era replacement of heads (the replacement heads are the ones that still have backplates) everything else is 1960s/70s vintage, in 2010 these all got replaced with modern equipment

[Joe The Dragon]

Here's a similar video. This one was recorded in Chicago, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6H9ywJ2Cko


Traffic signals on steroids...

we get more red lights tickets with that.

[paulthemapguy]

Just to show how much of a creepy, desolate ghost town Cairo, Illinois is, I drove past my first set of dead signals there in summer 2007, as a teenager.  (I wanted a shield photo of every sign in the state, and since US60 and US62 barely skim through the state south of Cairo, I had to go there.)  Soon after the signal heads were taken down (so this isn't a 'dead signal,' per se), Google went through and put up imagery showing the mast arms haven't been dismantled.  Curious, I checked the newer imagery from 2015, and wow.  They still haven't taken them down.  A testament to a drive so eerie, that I kinda want to go back just to recall that spooky feeling again. https://goo.gl/maps/iCmgkde5X5K2

[Pete from Boston]

Just to show how much of a creepy, desolate ghost town Cairo, Illinois is, I drove past my first set of dead signals there in summer 2007, as a teenager.  (I wanted a shield photo of every sign in the state, and since US60 and US62 barely skim through the state south of Cairo, I had to go there.)  Soon after the signal heads were taken down (so this isn't a 'dead signal,' per se), Google went through and put up imagery showing the mast arms haven't been dismantled.  Curious, I checked the newer imagery from 2015, and wow.  They still haven't taken them down.  A testament to a drive so eerie, that I kinda want to go back just to recall that spooky feeling again. https://goo.gl/maps/iCmgkde5X5K2

This fits with the impression that sticks in my mind of Cairo, that it seemed like someone had left a movie set standing even though production had ended long ago.

[freebrickproductions]

Just to show how much of a creepy, desolate ghost town Cairo, Illinois is, I drove past my first set of dead signals there in summer 2007, as a teenager.  (I wanted a shield photo of every sign in the state, and since US60 and US62 barely skim through the state south of Cairo, I had to go there.)  Soon after the signal heads were taken down (so this isn't a 'dead signal,' per se), Google went through and put up imagery showing the mast arms haven't been dismantled.  Curious, I checked the newer imagery from 2015, and wow.  They still haven't taken them down.  A testament to a drive so eerie, that I kinda want to go back just to recall that spooky feeling again. https://goo.gl/maps/iCmgkde5X5K2

Went further up the highway looking for any more abandoned signals, and found this pair of abandoned crossing signals:
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0211232,-89.185633,3a,75y,168.68h,94.55t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0pieknF3KggzpguEw-B1-g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Rails were cut just to the right of the crossing.