Signals on "close side" of intersection

[Brian556]

Check this out! Its a four-way intersection with all the traffic signals on the close side, it has a diagonal railroad crossing with the railroad crossing lights on the signal arms.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=42.7077,-83.277268&spn=0.000063,0.027423&t=m&z=15&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=42.707688,-83.285448&panoid=58a92nfqyPr9s6XDKeQh6Q&cbp=12,81,,0,0

[mgk920]

'S.O.P.' in Europe.  They only put the signals on the leading side to prevent people from stopping beyond the 'line'.

Mike

[US71]

http://g.co/maps/zkc44

Cahokia, IL

[Quillz]

That's actually a pretty neat idea. And one I've not seen before.

[agentsteel53]

it's a good idea if applied consistently.

the design decision I do not agree with is having the traffic light at the extreme edge of the road, as opposed to hanging overhead.  but, again, it is a matter of consistent application - if you're used to having them overhead, you're more likely to miss one off to the side than if you are trained to look off to the side always.

[US71]

it's a good idea if applied consistently.

the design decision I do not agree with is having the traffic light at the extreme edge of the road, as opposed to hanging overhead.  but, again, it is a matter of consistent application - if you're used to having them overhead, you're more likely to miss one off to the side than if you are trained to look off to the side always.

I've seen a few intersections that have a supplemental signal on the near side

[Alps]

I don't see what the Cahokia example has to do with this... the original link appears to be necessary for railroad control, but then you need to set the stop bar much farther back in order for the lead car to be able to see the signal (there's a "cone of visibility" that must be obeyed). Having a side-mounted signal doesn't fully alleviate this problem, necessarily. Longer distance between stop bars on opposite sides of the intersection = longer yellow and all-red times = less throughput.

[US71]

I guess I misunderstood the topic. I didn't realize we were only discussing railroad/highway intersections. There's one in Lowell, AR, but streetview doesn't show it very well.

[The High Plains Traveler]

This is really a one-off situation. Note that if a train is passing through the intersection, it will block the view of any signal mounted on the far side. As other commenters have noted, it is usual to have a signal in front of a railroad track that crosses at an intersection. In this unique instance, having the railroad crossing signal and the traffic signal at the same location appears to be appropriate.

[sp_redelectric]

Very rare in Oregon...but on Farmington Road (Oregon 10) at S.W. 170th Avenue there are near-side cable-stayed signals mounted in addition to the regular far-side signals on Farmington.  Unusual setup.

Nearby at 170th and T.V. Highway (Oregon 8) 170th northbound has near-side signals mounted between the railroad crossing and T.V. Highway.  Another unusual setup not repeated anywhere else along T.V. Highway where the railroad tracks run parallel to the highway.

[Alex]

I lived a block from these signals in the mid 80s. They always amazed me because they were posted so far ahead of the intersection, that one had to stop ahead of the stop bar to view the lens, or look straight up.



Adams Street at 10th Street - Wilmington, DE 10/12/01

They were replaced with a span wire on the opposite side of the intersection sometime after 2001.

[1995hoo]

The setup in the OP seems to be a special circumstance due to the railroad crossing. I note that from what I could see in the image, the stop bars appear to be far enough back that seeing the signal heads isn't a problem. That's my beef with most of the "near-side" arrangements I've seen–the stop bar is too close to the signal heads and you either have to stop too far back (which risks not tripping the light if it's on a sensor) or else bend down too far (especially if your windshield has the ubiquitous dark blue band at the top).

Here's an example not too far from my house. As you can tell, they moved the stop bar back when they put up the mast arm (previously it was span wire hung diagonally across the intersection using that pole you can see across the way on the far right below my Florida SunPass), but they didn't move it back far enough. When I took this picture I was holding the camera at about eye level.

[roadman65]

Orlando has a few with two on Orange Blossom Trail .  OBT and Central Florida Parkway and OBT and Town Center Boulevard.
Then the other is on Town Center Boulevard and Orange Avenue.

[deathtopumpkins]

There is a similar case to the OP where Terminal Blvd (VA 406) meets Hampton Blvd (VA 337) in Norfolk, VA: http://maps.google.com/?ll=36.917671,-76.310201&spn=0.001254,0.001206&t=k&z=20

However, here the signals are posted on BOTH sides of the intersection in all but one direction, i.e. on both the near and far side. The most interesting (or scary depending on your experience) thing about this intersection however is that left turns are permitted from southbound 337 onto eastbound 406 while a train is crossing, presumably to delay traffic leaving NS Norfolk as little as possible, as the crossing is often blocked for extended periods of time while Norfolk Southern is switching VIT.

[roadman65]

New Jersey has one in Rahway where NJ 27 SB changes alignment from St. George Avenue to Lincoln Highway.  There is a right turn arrow when NB NJ 27 can turn left from Lincoln Highway to St. George Avenue allowing NJ 27 SB to turn right either on to Colonia Boulevard or itself.

The thing is the two arrows are not seen by the driver at the stop bar!  The MUTCD requires only one signal head to be at least 40 feet away from the stop line.  There is one on the other side of the street here that complies, but only a through signal.  It does not have the arrows except on the two near sided signal heads where it is limited.  So, some have to wait as blowing the horn nowadays gets you nowhere, and a finger sometimes lifted at you.  Nonetheless, for SB NJ 27 at one point it is the only signal assembly for a stopped vehicle.

[blawp]

California usually puts one side-mounted signal on the close side, usually on the right.

[roadman65]

California usually puts one side-mounted signal on the close side, usually on the right.

Illinois does to and has a secondary left turn signal head on the far left corner.  If no left turn signal, the it is a normal additional signal on the far left and a 5 lens tower if a protected left turn set up is used.  Illinois does not use the doghouse as far as I have seen.

CA, NJ, and NV use them in various places too.

[blawp]

Basically, if you are looking for how to signalize an intersection, look no further than California.

[apeman33]

One of the lights at Five Points in Garden City, Kansas, is on the near side of the intersection.

If you stop at the stop line, you will likely not be able to see that signal because in relation to that line, it's almost directly overhead. You have to either crane your neck at an odd angle to see it or stop well behind the line. People from out of town get confused and go when the light facing westbound Kansas Ave. turns green because they don't realize their light is directly above them.

(EDIT: Ok, it took forever, but I learned how to link directly to the image. Go me)

[SignBridge]

I agree with blawp. California is the capital of excellence in traffic signals. They have overhead, far-left, far-right, near-right, and even some near-left supplemental signal heads depending on the geometry of the particular intersection. Though in some cases it appears to be overkill. I always liked Calif's near-right pole-mounted heads. To be fair, several other southwest states including Arizona and Nevada use very similar configurations to California.

[roadfro]

I'd say Nevada has far more consistent signal head arrangements than California...probably due to the shear number of older signals California versus newer installations in Nevada, with California having less resources to bring older signals up to more modern standards.

However, it does seem that Nevada has borrowed heavily from California's playbook with signals, among other things (postmile/milepost panels, anyone?)

[DaBigE]

I agree with blawp. California is the capital of excellence in traffic signals. They have overhead, far-left, far-right, near-right, and even some near-left supplemental signal heads depending on the geometry of the particular intersection. Though in some cases it appears to be overkill. I always liked Calif's near-right pole-mounted heads. To be fair, several other southwest states including Arizona and Nevada use very similar configurations to California.

I admit that I may be a little biased, but I would have to at the very least, declare it a tie between California and Wisconsin.  WisDOT's been doing far-left, far-right, and near-right since the 60s.  If there is a decent median, you can expect a pole mounted there as well.  Up until the latest signal design manual update, WisDOT required a near-right (stopline) pole at every signalized intersection.

Classic Wisconsin: http://g.co/maps/ke3md

[twinsfan87]

I agree (and also probably am a bit biased) that Wisconsin's signals are quite well designed. They are quite visible to drivers and the head placement is quite helpful. Another thing that Wisconsin does well is when using a pole-mounted left turn signal, there almost always is a pole-mounted through signal (with the LED straight ahead arrow). Sure it may not be totally necessary, but it really does differentiate the two movements. The only drawback in my mind is that Wisconsin doesn't often use the far-right signals unless there is no mast arm or no island separating the right turn lane(s) from the through lanes.

Minnesota is also consistent with its head placement (far-left and far-right signals always on any relatively new signal).

[Mark68]

From my experience, I think that California's (probably starting mid-70s) setups are best (probably bias on my part, having grown up there). Most newer signals have near-right, far-right, & far-left pole-mounted signals. The older ones seem to at least have far-right & far-left pole-mounted signals, and left turn signals (near-and-far) in medians.

Older signals in AZ & NV look very similar to the older signals in CA, but it seems that newer signals in both states might have near-right and far-left signals (especially left-turn signals for far-left), but are foregoing the far-right (with the possible exceptions of Las Vegas & Phoenix proper).

Newer signals here in Denver & Aurora (especially) now have far-right & far-left installed. Denver seems to have had far-right & far-left for quite some time (even on wire-mounted overhead signals).

[JustDrive]

Even so, SB Irwindale Avenue at the 210 East ramp has the signal on the "close" side of the intersection.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.129426,-117.933782&hl=en&ll=34.129711,-117.933726&spn=0.011865,0.026157&sll=34.129426,-117.933782&sspn=0.011865,0.026157&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=34.129474,-117.933749&panoid=wXcwYjI9_sjrDgNkqtysFQ&cbp=12,187.6,,0,3.99