[PRCo] Re: Traffic signals.

[Bill Robb]

Actually that wasn't unique to Pittsburgh.  Toronto and probably all of Ontario had that in the 60s.  Explanation I heard was that drivers read the yellow over green as "go like hell" when the yellow was meant to be "caution". So it became yellow only.  Then in about the last ten years the yellow (or officially amber) phase was substantially shortened because people weren't using it to slow down, only to crash right through the intersection.
Los Angeles and San Francisco also had non-standard two phase traffic lights as least as late as the 40s.



----- Original Message ----
From: Herb Brannon 


I remember the ones in Canton. I think they are all replaced with the three-tier type now.
  Pittsburgh used to have the signal go from green to yellow over green to yellow to red. Something unique to Pittsburgh and of course now gone along with everything else that gave Pittsburgh its character.
   
  PS: Having another small earthquake here right now. This is the second one today. They seem to be happening with greater frequency. There went the pen/ink drawing of two Chicago 4000-series PCC's. Nothing damaged it only fell two feet to the PC monitor. Let me go and check things out.
Bob Rathke <bobrathke at comcast.net> wrote:
  Canton, Ohio had red/green traffic signals. They were still in use in the 
1970's, and maybe still are today.

I just returned from eight days in Stockholm, and noted that traffic signals 
there go from red to red/yellow, then to green.

Bob 3/12/07

-----------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Herb Brannon" 
---------------------------------

To: 

Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 7:09 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Stupid questions....


> If those were still in operation today I can imagine the results when the 
> signal went dark and the traffic on the street which had the green kept 
> moving and the traffic on the street which had the red started moving !
> Bill Robb wrote: --- John Swindler wrote:
>>
>> Likewise, why do we need a yellow signal at an intersection.
>> Think of all the money that could be saved with only a two
>> aspect signal?
> I seem to recall seeing many such in New York city in the late 1950s.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I remember those too. But they were still three aspect signals. At the end 
> of the green aspect the whole signal went dark for 5 seconds or so before 
> the signal went red.
>
>
>
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Herb Brannon


 
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