Why do traffic lights look different in certain parts of the country? (live, costs)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Personally, I don't like the look of the lights that hang from wires. Just seems too Third World for my tastes. I prefer the ones that hang from fixed poles.
The ones in New York City, I've never seen that mounting style anywhere else. I wonder why New York chose that particular style when seemingly no one else did?
Traffic SIGNALS hung on cable connected to guyed wood poles may cost only a few thousand dollars to install as a complete signalized intersection.
Signals hung from aluminum poles can costs 10's of thousands per intersection with decorative steel poles costing up to a hundred thousand dollars for a complete intersection installation.
Sometimes it's about either fancy poles or school books.
I hate wired lights looks like 3rd world and annoying... most of Upstate NY has those but thankfully not in NJ they are yellow hanging on aluminum poles. You can tell the difference when crossing the border.
My favorite traffic light design are on the West Coast / California.
Here in most of the East, the traffic lights are yellow and some NYC traffic lights can be green (like the Statue of Liberty lol). The traffic light poles are ordinary looking.
In the South, I noticed that places like Florida or the Houston area hangs their traffic lights sideways and uses the same poles like the rest of the East. Their lights do not hang freely like they do up north and I guess this is due to their high winds when they get hurricanes.
The traffic lights out West are black and are the poles prettier in setup. Also, the West (especially Cali) has more left turn signals at their intersections. Their lights do not hang freely and I assume this is because of earthquakes
Why are the traffic lights black out West? Is it to contrast from the high sunshine they get?
If a traffic light breaks, they will just use the same type of traffic light. I don't think it has to do with anything being more modern than the other.
I think you're right about the horizontal lights. They are a lot sturdier and therefore can handle wind better than free-hanging ones.
We used to have several lights in the downtown area that were on a pole at the corner of an intersection. If you weren't familiar with them, it would be easy to blow right through without ever seeing them. Those are all gone now, and we have a few horizontal once, but mostly free hanging LED lights.
Many, many years ago I used to drive through a town that had one light, and it only had red and green on it ... no yellow. On one street, red would be at the top and green at the bottom in the standard manner. On the intersecting street, red was on the bottom and green on the top. The fixture only had two bulbs in it, with one side red, the other green. That was really strange.
The black lights in the West may be to provide better contrast to the rocky background, whereas in the eastern part of the country, yellow shows up better against a background of trees.
Is NYC the only city with the guy wire traffic light posts? I've always thought those looked iconically NYC
The vast, vast majority of signal lights here are hung like that. It's because they are a lot cheaper to install.
Quote:
Originally Posted by potanta
I am thinking the horizontal hanging would be so that the flooding wouldn't be able to knock over the light.
That would be a heckuva flood. I suppose storm surge in a large hurricane could reach that height, but the high winds are probably more of a concern with free hanging lights than storm surge is.
Personally, I don't like the look of the lights that hang from wires. Just seems too Third World for my tastes. I prefer the ones that hang from fixed poles.
The ones in New York City, I've never seen that mounting style anywhere else. I wonder why New York chose that particular style when seemingly no one else did?
I agree. It looks sloppy when hung from a wire, and is likely less sturdy. NYC doesn't do it like that at all, except under train overpasses.
I am also curious about how that design was chosen and stuck around. I think the design is pretty "neat" looking, though.
As for what the other post said, Jersey's traffic lights are different, they don't have guy wires.
The vast, vast majority of signal lights here are hung like that. It's because they are a lot cheaper to install.
That would be a heckuva flood. I suppose storm surge in a large hurricane could reach that height, but the high winds are probably more of a concern with free hanging lights than storm surge is.
By guy wire I don't mean the lights being hung on a cable themselves, I mean a metal bar that's supported by two guy wires.
I agree. It looks sloppy when hung from a wire, and is likely less sturdy. NYC doesn't do it like that at all, except under train overpasses.
I am also curious about how that design was chosen and stuck around. I think the design is pretty "neat" looking, though.
As for what the other post said, Jersey's traffic lights are different, they don't have guy wires.
For the benefit of those who aren't familiar with New York's and New Jersey's traffic lights . . . while the pole assemblies do look somewhat similar, they aren't the same.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I suppose storm surge in a large hurricane could reach that height, but the high winds are probably more of a concern with free hanging lights than storm surge is.
