[PRCo] Re: 42/38 on Smithfield Yellow-Green Light

[BobDietrich]

Geez!  If only I had a smart phone to look it up, then I would have known
what to do...  :-) 

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org] On Behalf Of Herb
Brannon
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 6:51 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: 42/38 on Smithfield Yellow-Green Light

Page 251 of the 2009 manual states, "A flashing green signal has no meaning
and shall not be used."
Boston has either obtained an exception or is not in compliance with the
uniform traffic standards.

I checked the Massachusetts official drivers manual and no mention is made
of a "flashing green".

However, Wikipedia gives the following information:
*
FLASHING GREEN LIGHT*

In British Columbia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia>[14]<http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/List_of_variations_in_traffic_light_signalling_and_operation#cite_note-
13>and
a few U.S. states, a flashing green globe signal is used at a
pedestrian
crossing <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian_crossing> or intersection,
at which pedestrians have the ability to stop traffic to allow a safe
crossing. They may also be used at a drawbridge. The flashing green
indicates that the signal is not currently in use. As soon as a pedestrian
pushes the button to trigger the signal, the light changes to solid green
for a short time before entering the normal yellow/red/green sequence, then
returns to flashing green until another crossing is requested; however, in
some places such as Vancouver <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver>, it
goes directly from flashing green to yellow, leaving out the solid green
sequence. *In Massachusetts, specifically in Cambridge and Somerville, the
main street will have a flashing green signal, while cross streets have a
signal that have a red on top, yellow in the middle and flashing red in the
bottom position. When a pedestrian activates the signal, the cross street
changes from flashing red in the lowest position to yellow to red (topmost
position).*
Wikipedia seems to have the answer.

On Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 16:20, Barry, Matthew R <mrb190 at pitt.edu> wrote:

> Interesting about Boston.   Yes, what the heck does flashing green mean?
>
> Found this about the Pittsburgh yellow-green combo:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_left
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org [mailto:
> pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org] On Behalf Of BobDietrich
> Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 4:17 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: 42/38 on Smithfield Yellow-Green Light
>
> So if it is consistency we have why is Boston still flashing GREEN?  I saw
> that last week and almost wrecked, I didn't know what to do!!!!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org] On Behalf Of Fred
> Schneider
> Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 2:31 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: 42/38 on Smithfield Yellow-Green Light
>
> It ended when the feds wanted consistency everywhere.   They never managed
> to get it everywhere ... Florida and Texas mount traffic lights
> horizontally to confuse the color blind.
>
> At the same time New York City scrapped their lights that simply went from
> green to red.   Marietta, Ohio used to have green and red lights that
> flashed red over green three times as a warning before the green went out.
> They also disappeared about the same time.   There were a lot of odd
> variants at one time.  Some cities had lights where the green was
> sequential .... started at the bottom and progressed up a ladder until it
> turned red.
> Seems to me Reading, PA had a version like that back in the 1930s or 1940s
> but it was not still around in the 1970s.
>
>
>
> On Oct 27, 2011, at 2:20 PM, Barry, Matthew R wrote:
>
> > No, Bob.  That practice ended in Pittsburgh - I  think in the late 70s.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org] On Behalf Of Bob
> Rathke
> > Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 2:18 PM
> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> > Subject: [PRCo] Re: 42/38 on Smithfield Yellow-Green Light
> >
> >
> > Don't the traffic lights in Pittsburgh still have the overlapping
> green/yellow indication?
> >
> >
> >
> > I recall that in the 1960's Pittsburgh was one of the few (maybe the
> > only)
> city in the U.S. with overlapping traffic signals.  Also in that era,
> Canton, Ohio had simple red & green traffic signals - no yellow.
> >
> >
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >
> >
> > From: "Matthew R Barry" <mrb190 at pitt.edu>
> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> > Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 12:21:58 PM
> > Subject: [PRCo] 42/38 on Smithfield  Yellow-Green Light
> >
> > Hi Folks,
> > Take a look at this of the 42/38 on Smithfield:
> http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=275722&nseq=45
> >
> > Remember when the traffic lights used to give us "green" THEN   "green
> and
> yellow together," then "yellow," and finally "red?"    The photo
> illustrates
> the former green/yellow signal.
> >
> > Matt
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


-- 
Herb Brannon
In Cuyahoga Valley National Park