Monday 10 February 2014

The Upside Down Traffic Light

image credit: Doug Kerr

A traffic light that's different from all others in the US can be found in the small Irish neighborhood of Tipperary Hill. What makes it different is the fact that the lights are turned upside down - green first, red last. The history of how this happened is quite interesting.

When the city first installed traffic signal lights in 1925, local Irish youths, incensed that the 'British' red appeared above the 'Irish' green, threw stones at the signal and broke the red light. Members of a group called Tipperary Hill Protective Association addressed the town rulers. On March 17, 1928, the city leaders relented, and green was above the red light.

3 comment(s):

Anonymous said...

Always amusing if colour blind people encounter this traffic light.

I'd rather mounted a traffic light guard than obeying to idiots and destructive people.

B.



Brian said...

Never thought I'd see my hometown of Syracuse on Presurfer!

Anonymous said...

Actually this isn't the only signal light like this in the US. There is (or at least used to be; I haven't been through there in a number of years) an upside-down light like this in Eupora, MS. It was a very old signal light, probably dating to the 1930's or '40s.