Racing the Yellow - A brief history of traffic lights

The first traffic signal, as we would recognize it, was not installed in the United States. In fact, it was placed outside the Parliament building in London, England in 1868. This signal was what is known as a semaphore signal, with arms that read "Stop" and "Go". It was operated by hand by a police officer who was stationed at the intersection.

While this is a newer example of a semaphore traffic signal, it still shows the arms which tell traffic to either stop or proceed.


 The first electric traffic lights in the United States were installed in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1912. These were the first to use the now familiar red and green lights. These signals, however, did not use the modern amber light that we have become accustomed to. These signals contained only red and green lights, forgoing the middle amber.

This is an example of an early traffic light. Instead of containing the three-light system that we are used to today, it uses only red and green.

The yellow light that we are used to was not introduced until much later in traffic signal usage. Even then, amber lights did not have the same meaning as they do today. Proposed meanings for the yellow light included using that color as a cue to clear the intersection, signal for left-hand turns, signal pedestrians to go in all directions, as well as it as used today - as a warning that the light is about to change. Early on, the meanings of the colors of traffic lights were not standardized. Relatively quickly, there was a push to standardize the meanings of the colors, in order to prevent accidents. There were even concerns over the use of yellow lights. It was believed that if drivers knew when the light was going to change, they would try to anticipate the light, which would cause accidents. This is somewhat surprising, as a similar phenomenon occurs at modern intersections with modern lights.


The push to use automatic traffic lights was sparked to free up police officers. Prior to automatic signals, signals had to be operated by a police officer by hand. This caused many intersections to be unattended during an emergency situation. If the lights were controlled automatically, the intersection wouldn't be insecure. Another reason automatic signals became popular over manned intersections were that they were cheaper, per year, than a manned one.

The synchronization of lights was also seen as important very early on. They knew that if timed lights were used, they would eventually slow down traffic unnecessarily. They realized that if the lights were synchronized, a driver could continue down a road unimpeded. This is interesting because the synchronizations of lights is still used, as is seen in downtown Buffalo.

Main Street, Williamsville

Main Street in Williamsville is a busy street that wants to feel small. This is not to say, however, that there are not things to be noticed just below the surface, or in this case, above it.

For example, this building currently houses the offices of The Amherst Bee. The curious part of this building however, is that it has a window that faces directly into the wall of the building next to it. I believe this shows the progression of construction in the village along Main Street. You would not build a building with a window that faces directly into another building. Therefore, the yellow building must have been built first.

Like the previous building, the second floor of this building shows the progression of construction in the Village of Williamsville. This time, however, the new construction is incorporated in a single building. The brick building on the right is likely the original structure, with the brown building on the left most likely being built afterward. This is easily seen on the building's second floor, where one of the chimneys of the brick structure juts out of the brown building. Like many of the buildings along Main Street, this has been converted into a law office out of a private home. The upper floors are likely more offices of the law firm.

That there are old buildings on Main Street does not mean that there are only old buildings on that road. This structure, for example is likely a relatively recent addition to the small skyline that is Main Street. I make this assumption because of what appears to be vinyl siding on its exterior. The purpose of the second floor of this building is not in question, however, as it advertises its use on its facade.

 This building shows the most obvious evidence of refurbishing. Looking carefully at the chimney, you can see that it appears to be of a much earlier time than the rest of the building. This is unlikely, however, as you likely would not put an old chimney into an new building. Because of this, it is likely that the building underwent renovation in order to become what we see at present.

The second floors of the buildings on Main Street reveal a great deal about the purposes of the buildings on top of which they reside. This is true whether or not they overtly say it or not.