Quincy MA upgraded a flashing yellow pedestrian crossing to new signal head with flashing green and flashing yellow. The flashing green lights face both directions on School Street, while the flashing yellow lights face Hancock Ct.
Massachusetts in one of the few places you can see them, as well they're a few of them that use a pedestrian phase where the yellow and red are lit at the same time in all directions.
Wow, so I guess Massachusetts still has some neat exclusive traffic light designs and setups, like they did in the past? (Remember the red and yellow pedestrian phase?)
wileyk209zback here’s a link to my own traffic light setup with flashing green and yellow/red pedestrian phase, czcams.com/video/v8gRWHxLcYw/video.html . The module I have can also function with a steady green and yellow/red phase. In Massachusetts there are some yellow/red pedestrian phases around, Salem MA still has the highest concentration of them. But there are a few with the city of Boston on DCR roads.
Always has but lately when I go back it gets more and more homogenized so that the signals in Mass don't look much different from the signals in Ohio, Indiana, etc. Unusual signals were all over Mass especially in the Boston area
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive Yep, that flashing setup was once at an intersection here in Brockton MA, complete with 8" signal lenses. But in 2003 the intersection was redone and more typical traffic lights with standalone pedestrian signals were installed, using 12" hand/man LED inserts. (Here in Brockton they only install countdown pedestrian signals at large busy intersections.)
This is something that was very common in Massachusetts from the 1950's until today. There are still many installations using flashing green for a pedestrian signal. As British Columbia uses a flashing green for pedestrian signals too. But in other parts of Canada they use a rapid flashing green for advanced left turn phase.
As of Friday, 7 May 2023, the flashing circular green has been replaced back with a flashing circular yellow like it was with the older signals - not sure when this was changed out.
Looks like the flashing green exists outside of British Columbia! Although in BC, the side-street just has a stop sign instead of a flashing yellow/solid-red light.
Yes, Massachusetts has been the home of the flashing green for well over 50 years. The side street signal in the video is partially incorrect. When flashing green is used on the main road the side street needs a flashing red to convey the same meaning as a stop sign when in the flashing phase. So the flashing yellow ball facing the side street should be a red flashing ball. So the side street signal should be red/red not red/yellow. Now in older installations the set up was a three section red/yellow/green for the main street and red/yellow/red for the side street, there the red that would be in the green section would be the red that flashed. With this setup the signals when changing it would go from flashing green/red to all directions yellow and then to red and then for pedestrian crossing phase the red and yellow would be lit at the same time. The newer installations they have removed the yellow from the side street, sometimes it's just a red/red signal and sometimes it is a red/yellow/red and the yellow is not used and remains dark, as well they have added the separate pedestrian signal with the hand/man.
Yes. Don’t know why the city installed the flashing yellow for the side street. The side street should flash red with the flashing green for the main street. And yes flashing green is still acceptable in the state of Massachusetts under their supplemental MUTCD manual.
@@thomasdeturk5142 Massachusetts is lucky, since we use a supplemental MUTCD manual, the flashing green is already in there. The signals in the video were the first new installation of a flashing green signals since the 1970’s. There are still quite a few flashing greens in Massachusetts, they can be found in the towns of Beverly, Peabody and Salem. These flashing green signals also use the Massachusetts yellow and red phase to indicate pedestrian walk phase. There are other flashing greens in Boston and Arlington that use a regular white walking man and orange hand pedestrian signals.
I think that should flash red at Hancock Ct. and flash yellow on School Street. Typically, yellow flashing means you have the right of way but should exercise a high degree of caution anyway. It is the same right of way as the flashing green but with an extra emphasis on caution. What should be there is a flashing red for the minor road and flashing yellow on the main. If google maps is anything to go by, they fixed it.
@@politicallyambiguous8424 yes, I know. The video is from 6 years ago. I complained to the city’s traffic engineer at that time and they assured me that they were going to fix it. I have not been back there since to verify that they have corrected the problem. But I heard that they have and also removed the flashing green LEDs and installed flashing yellows.
They have that in Canada 🇨🇦 And especially in British Columbia and Ontario. Maybe we should use that for bicycles and pedestrians. 🟢 Green Flashing light means yield for pedestrians.
The Canadian locations and Massachusetts are the only locations that use flashing green. Here the flashing green means the same thing as a flashing yellow, proceed with caution, signal can change at anytime, as well it indicates that the signal does not control the flow of traffic. The flashing green pedestrian signals were used at intersections where a controlled pedestrian crosswalk was needed, but the traffic control could still be done with a stop sign. So the flashing green would face the main street and a flashing red would face the side street in place of a stop sign. The old setups would change from flashing green/red to all directions yellow and then to red. And then to indicate pedestrian walk phase the red and yellow would display at the same time on all signal heads. Some of the installations still in place now even though they have a three light signal facing the side street, only the top red will flash and then will change to steady when the setup changes to yellow, as well they have added pedestrian signal heads for the walk and don't walk phases.
I don’t think so since the state of Massachusetts has used both flashing green and yellow/red pedestrian phase since the 1960’s. The state also uses a supplemental state MUTCD which still allows flashing greens and yellow/reds.
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive kind of odd that BC started introducing flashing greens for pedestrians right before Massachusetts stopped installing them.
@@iSquishy89 I am not sure when the last new installation for flashing green was, but in the 1990’s there was a massive switch over to flashing yellow, though many flashing greens still remained and continued to be printed in the driver’s license manual. As well it is still in the state supplemental MUTCD manual. I was to see this installation with flashing green. It was flashing yellow prior to this new installation. The issue was that the pedestrian crossing is about halfway between two intersections with traffic signals, so drivers rarely noticed when the signals changed for pedestrians. So they revisited the flashing green. Now why did they have to do this, well the pedestrian crossing is the path for senior citizens to cross to get to a church. Senior apartments on one side and church across the street. So the seniors may not be able to walk all the way down and back to either of the other intersections. As well any time there’s a red light runner all the seniors will complain to the city, so hence the up grade.
It is flashing for 1.) to bring attention to the pedestrian signal, which are located 1/2 block between two regular intersections. 2.) flashing green indicates the signals do not control traffic movements within the intersection only pedestrians crossing. 3.) the signals used to flash yellow instead of green which there were lots of vehicles ignoring when the signals changed to red. Now most people complain that these signals are not MUTDC compliant but, the state of Massachusetts is one of a few states that use a state supplemental MUTDC which allows flashing green signals and yellow and red pedestrian phase instead of a walk/don’t walk signal head. As for why the signals were converted from flashing yellow to flashing green. The signals are located between senior housing and a church. So anytime a vehicle ignores the signals and endangers a senior crossing the street the community has all the city officials on speed dial, so the city had to do something. And why flashing green? The state of Massachusetts has used flashing green since atleast the early 1960’s maybe even older. So we have data on how well flashing green works under certain circumstances. So the city of Quincy determined that flashing green was better than the flashing yellow installation before.
It appears when the signal installation was upgraded from flashing yellow to flashing greens for the main street the side street was incorrectly spec'ed out with a two 12" section signal head with red over yellow. The yellow should have been red since the side street entering the intersection should be a stop. I contacted the city after taking the video about the issue and they replace the yellow LED module to a red one.
@@jeanchp eventually I will, unfortunately time wise it’s been out of my way with work and getting stuck in rush hour traffic. But I am working getting over there. I am working on videos with similar signals in Peabody MA right now, I will be releasing them soon. But technically these signals were upgraded from 12-12-8 Red/Yellow/Flashing Yellow heads for the main street and 12-8 Red/Flashing Red heads for the side street to 12-12-12 Red/Yellow/Flashing Green heads for the main street and 12-12 Red/Flashing Yellow for the side. The flashing yellow on the side street was replaced to flashing red.
Well, Massachusetts is one of the states that uses a state supplemental MUTCD, so it is acceptable practice under those standards. But as for catching on in other parts of the country, I don’t think so, since this has been normal practice since the 1950/60’s. The flashing green for the main street and flashing red are iconic pedestrian signals in Massachusetts as as well they used to go hand in hand with displaying yellow and red pedestrian phase.
Here’s another video in Salem Massachusetts with the flashing green and flashing red, these are true original pedestrian signals left over from yesteryear. These operate just as they have for decades, with now pedestrian heads, just main signal heads to display the yellow and red for pedestrians. czcams.com/video/-6Ux0wwmIdk/video.html
This doesn't make any sense. If flashing green means go and flashing yellow means proceed with caution, doesn't that mean vehicles will be crashing into each other? Who's supposed to yield to who?
I am not sure what the project specifications were when the signals were upgraded. So I can’t say if it was a design problem or contractor installation problem but, I contacted the city’s traffic engineer about the issue and it was rectified soon after by replacing the yellow flashing ball with a red ball.
Jay Bernard III by Massachusetts standards this was the normal for pedestrian only signal with an intersecting street. Signals of this type with flashing green for the main street and flashing red for the side street date back into the 1960’s. This installation was previously was flashing yellow for the main street displayed on a 12-12-8 head with R-Y-Y and a 12-8 head with R-R for the side street. The reason it was converted back into a flashing green was to improve visibility of the signal, it lyes between two regular controlled intersection and people always run the signal when it is the walk phase. This signal is a high complaint signal because it is between a senior living center and a church, so every time a car runs the light the seniors are on the phone with the police or their city counsel man. Also the side street signals has been returned to be a flashing red instead of the flashing yellow in the video. The last new installation of a flashing green signals were prior to 1992, that’s the time Massachusetts started to comply with MUTCD. This is the time the flashing greens were converted to flashing yellow, but presently there are still a few of these unicorns out there. On an other note Massachusetts started to install flashing yellow arrows in the 1970’s although they never programmed in the manner that they’re being used today. The extra yellow in the head was used as flash when the system was in flash mode. As well there were a few flashing red signals too, where the extra red was for flash as well.
@@lilbluefoxie here’s a later video I produced on one of the flashing green signals in Salem czcams.com/video/NAM0VKNyw0g/video.html . I also have a video of the signals on MA-114 in Peabody. I need to go back to Marblehead near the end of MA-114 where there is a flashing yellow and red pedestrian signals that use a four section signal head with a green ball in each direction, not sure of the phase sequence where the green section is used.
It was the first “new” installation since the 1980’s in Quincy, Massachusetts. The word “New” was in the context similar as a “New” cars. If I was to use your context cars have been around for over 100 years, so cars aren’t technically new.
I was about to say never in my life I've ever seen a traffic light flash green but I stand corrected
Massachusetts in one of the few places you can see them, as well they're a few of them that use a pedestrian phase where the yellow and red are lit at the same time in all directions.
Wow, so I guess Massachusetts still has some neat exclusive traffic light designs and setups, like they did in the past? (Remember the red and yellow pedestrian phase?)
wileyk209zback here’s a link to my own traffic light setup with flashing green and yellow/red pedestrian phase, czcams.com/video/v8gRWHxLcYw/video.html .
The module I have can also function with a steady green and yellow/red phase.
In Massachusetts there are some yellow/red pedestrian phases around, Salem MA still has the highest concentration of them. But there are a few with the city of Boston on DCR roads.
Always has but lately when I go back it gets more and more homogenized so that the signals in Mass don't look much different from the signals in Ohio, Indiana, etc. Unusual signals were all over Mass especially in the Boston area
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive Yep, that flashing setup was once at an intersection here in Brockton MA, complete with 8" signal lenses. But in 2003 the intersection was redone and more typical traffic lights with standalone pedestrian signals were installed, using 12" hand/man LED inserts. (Here in Brockton they only install countdown pedestrian signals at large busy intersections.)
I see so many old traffic signal installation videos in your channel
im from Florida and ive never seen anything like this before
This is something that was very common in Massachusetts from the 1950's until today. There are still many installations using flashing green for a pedestrian signal.
As British Columbia uses a flashing green for pedestrian signals too. But in other parts of Canada they use a rapid flashing green for advanced left turn phase.
A lot better than confusing Hawk beacons
As of Friday, 7 May 2023, the flashing circular green has been replaced back with a flashing circular yellow like it was with the older signals - not sure when this was changed out.
Probably was an experiment or got a ticking off from higher up. Either way the flashing green or yellow is better than Hawk beacons
Looks like the flashing green exists outside of British Columbia! Although in BC, the side-street just has a stop sign instead of a flashing yellow/solid-red light.
Yes, Massachusetts has been the home of the flashing green for well over 50 years.
The side street signal in the video is partially incorrect. When flashing green is used on the main road the side street needs a flashing red to convey the same meaning as a stop sign when in the flashing phase. So the flashing yellow ball facing the side street should be a red flashing ball. So the side street signal should be red/red not red/yellow.
Now in older installations the set up was a three section red/yellow/green for the main street and red/yellow/red for the side street, there the red that would be in the green section would be the red that flashed.
With this setup the signals when changing it would go from flashing green/red to all directions yellow and then to red and then for pedestrian crossing phase the red and yellow would be lit at the same time.
The newer installations they have removed the yellow from the side street, sometimes it's just a red/red signal and sometimes it is a red/yellow/red and the yellow is not used and remains dark, as well they have added the separate pedestrian signal with the hand/man.
Flashing yellow and flashing green
Yes. Don’t know why the city installed the flashing yellow for the side street. The side street should flash red with the flashing green for the main street. And yes flashing green is still acceptable in the state of Massachusetts under their supplemental MUTCD manual.
Thanks. The city is replacing the flashing yellow with red for the 2-section side street heads.
smart
Yeah I was going to say, that would be a bit misleading!
This is the flashing green that they have in Canada, and we should have to adopt the flashing green light for pedestrians.
@@thomasdeturk5142 Massachusetts is lucky, since we use a supplemental MUTCD manual, the flashing green is already in there.
The signals in the video were the first new installation of a flashing green signals since the 1970’s.
There are still quite a few flashing greens in Massachusetts, they can be found in the towns of Beverly, Peabody and Salem. These flashing green signals also use the Massachusetts yellow and red phase to indicate pedestrian walk phase. There are other flashing greens in Boston and Arlington that use a regular white walking man and orange hand pedestrian signals.
I think that should flash red at Hancock Ct. and flash yellow on School Street.
Typically, yellow flashing means you have the right of way but should exercise a high degree of caution anyway. It is the same right of way as the flashing green but with an extra emphasis on caution.
What should be there is a flashing red for the minor road and flashing yellow on the main.
If google maps is anything to go by, they fixed it.
@@politicallyambiguous8424 yes, I know. The video is from 6 years ago. I complained to the city’s traffic engineer at that time and they assured me that they were going to fix it. I have not been back there since to verify that they have corrected the problem. But I heard that they have and also removed the flashing green LEDs and installed flashing yellows.
I wish the MUTCD adopted this instead of the garbage HAWK signals.
wow i love it
They have that in Canada 🇨🇦
And especially in British Columbia and Ontario. Maybe we should use that for bicycles and pedestrians. 🟢 Green Flashing light means yield for pedestrians.
The Canadian locations and Massachusetts are the only locations that use flashing green. Here the flashing green means the same thing as a flashing yellow, proceed with caution, signal can change at anytime, as well it indicates that the signal does not control the flow of traffic.
The flashing green pedestrian signals were used at intersections where a controlled pedestrian crosswalk was needed, but the traffic control could still be done with a stop sign. So the flashing green would face the main street and a flashing red would face the side street in place of a stop sign.
The old setups would change from flashing green/red to all directions yellow and then to red. And then to indicate pedestrian walk phase the red and yellow would display at the same time on all signal heads.
Some of the installations still in place now even though they have a three light signal facing the side street, only the top red will flash and then will change to steady when the setup changes to yellow, as well they have added pedestrian signal heads for the walk and don't walk phases.
Wow!
Nice video
that chirp is so realistic
it's good the 2 sections was switched from yellow to red because without a flashing red, it will result in drivers crashing into each other
Yes, not sure if it was a design spec or installation error. I notified the city’s engineer as soon as I saw it.
🚦🚦🚦
I wonder if they took this concept from British Colombia since all of their Crosswalk-specific traffic lights flash green instead of a solid green
I don’t think so since the state of Massachusetts has used both flashing green and yellow/red pedestrian phase since the 1960’s. The state also uses a supplemental state MUTCD which still allows flashing greens and yellow/reds.
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive kind of odd that BC started introducing flashing greens for pedestrians right before Massachusetts stopped installing them.
@@iSquishy89 I am not sure when the last new installation for flashing green was, but in the 1990’s there was a massive switch over to flashing yellow, though many flashing greens still remained and continued to be printed in the driver’s license manual. As well it is still in the state supplemental MUTCD manual.
I was to see this installation with flashing green. It was flashing yellow prior to this new installation. The issue was that the pedestrian crossing is about halfway between two intersections with traffic signals, so drivers rarely noticed when the signals changed for pedestrians. So they revisited the flashing green.
Now why did they have to do this, well the pedestrian crossing is the path for senior citizens to cross to get to a church. Senior apartments on one side and church across the street. So the seniors may not be able to walk all the way down and back to either of the other intersections. As well any time there’s a red light runner all the seniors will complain to the city, so hence the up grade.
Give me the location link so I can test it out. Also, do you actually live in MA? I see so many of your videos in MA.
The location is listed in the description School Street and Hancock Court Quincy, Massachusetts.
Cool
Where is this flashing pedestrian traffic lights located?
It’s actually listed in the description. Quincy, MA.
Why is it Flashing Green instead of Steady Green?
It is flashing for 1.) to bring attention to the pedestrian signal, which are located 1/2 block between two regular intersections. 2.) flashing green indicates the signals do not control traffic movements within the intersection only pedestrians crossing. 3.) the signals used to flash yellow instead of green which there were lots of vehicles ignoring when the signals changed to red.
Now most people complain that these signals are not MUTDC compliant but, the state of Massachusetts is one of a few states that use a state supplemental MUTDC which allows flashing green signals and yellow and red pedestrian phase instead of a walk/don’t walk signal head.
As for why the signals were converted from flashing yellow to flashing green. The signals are located between senior housing and a church. So anytime a vehicle ignores the signals and endangers a senior crossing the street the community has all the city officials on speed dial, so the city had to do something.
And why flashing green? The state of Massachusetts has used flashing green since atleast the early 1960’s maybe even older. So we have data on how well flashing green works under certain circumstances. So the city of Quincy determined that flashing green was better than the flashing yellow installation before.
👍
Bro, this beacon is new now?
The video was posted 6 years ago. It was new at that time.
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive oh, ok🤔
What's with the flashing yellow?
It appears when the signal installation was upgraded from flashing yellow to flashing greens for the main street the side street was incorrectly spec'ed out with a two 12" section signal head with red over yellow. The yellow should have been red since the side street entering the intersection should be a stop. I contacted the city after taking the video about the issue and they replace the yellow LED module to a red one.
Are you going to make a video with the upgraded signal?
@@jeanchp eventually I will, unfortunately time wise it’s been out of my way with work and getting stuck in rush hour traffic. But I am working getting over there. I am working on videos with similar signals in Peabody MA right now, I will be releasing them soon.
But technically these signals were upgraded from 12-12-8 Red/Yellow/Flashing Yellow heads for the main street and 12-8 Red/Flashing Red heads for the side street to 12-12-12 Red/Yellow/Flashing Green heads for the main street and 12-12 Red/Flashing Yellow for the side. The flashing yellow on the side street was replaced to flashing red.
Where is it located?
Quincy, Massachusetts at School Street and Hancock Court.
Is this MUTCD compliant, lol? Joking aside, I see this catching on s elsewhere in the country soon.
Well, Massachusetts is one of the states that uses a state supplemental MUTCD, so it is acceptable practice under those standards. But as for catching on in other parts of the country, I don’t think so, since this has been normal practice since the 1950/60’s.
The flashing green for the main street and flashing red are iconic pedestrian signals in Massachusetts as as well they used to go hand in hand with displaying yellow and red pedestrian phase.
Here’s another video in Salem Massachusetts with the flashing green and flashing red, these are true original pedestrian signals left over from yesteryear. These operate just as they have for decades, with now pedestrian heads, just main signal heads to display the yellow and red for pedestrians.
czcams.com/video/-6Ux0wwmIdk/video.html
This doesn't make any sense. If flashing green means go and flashing yellow means proceed with caution, doesn't that mean vehicles will be crashing into each other? Who's supposed to yield to who?
I am not sure what the project specifications were when the signals were upgraded. So I can’t say if it was a design problem or contractor installation problem but, I contacted the city’s traffic engineer about the issue and it was rectified soon after by replacing the yellow flashing ball with a red ball.
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive 😁👌🏾
It not hawk beacon signal or reg crosswalk signal or reg traffic signal.
Jay Bernard III by Massachusetts standards this was the normal for pedestrian only signal with an intersecting street. Signals of this type with flashing green for the main street and flashing red for the side street date back into the 1960’s.
This installation was previously was flashing yellow for the main street displayed on a 12-12-8 head with R-Y-Y and a 12-8 head with R-R for the side street. The reason it was converted back into a flashing green was to improve visibility of the signal, it lyes between two regular controlled intersection and people always run the signal when it is the walk phase. This signal is a high complaint signal because it is between a senior living center and a church, so every time a car runs the light the seniors are on the phone with the police or their city counsel man.
Also the side street signals has been returned to be a flashing red instead of the flashing yellow in the video.
The last new installation of a flashing green signals were prior to 1992, that’s the time Massachusetts started to comply with MUTCD. This is the time the flashing greens were converted to flashing yellow, but presently there are still a few of these unicorns out there.
On an other note Massachusetts started to install flashing yellow arrows in the 1970’s although they never programmed in the manner that they’re being used today. The extra yellow in the head was used as flash when the system was in flash mode. As well there were a few flashing red signals too, where the extra red was for flash as well.
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive Salem has a few flashing greens left as well
@@lilbluefoxie here’s a later video I produced on one of the flashing green signals in Salem czcams.com/video/NAM0VKNyw0g/video.html .
I also have a video of the signals on MA-114 in Peabody.
I need to go back to Marblehead near the end of MA-114 where there is a flashing yellow and red pedestrian signals that use a four section signal head with a green ball in each direction, not sure of the phase sequence where the green section is used.
There's no picture to see it..
Not quite sure what you mean?
That's not new, I remember seing flashing green on US roads almost fifety years ago
It was the first “new” installation since the 1980’s in Quincy, Massachusetts. The word “New” was in the context similar as a “New” cars. If I was to use your context cars have been around for over 100 years, so cars aren’t technically new.
@@drivingnewengland-thedrive Oh, Ok.