What is on this street sign? It's driving me nuts.

 

This has driven me crazy ever since I can remember. On almost every traffic signal in DFW there is a street sign that faces UP. I know one thing about it, the color. Other than that, I don't have a clue what's on it or why it's there.

I've heard good guesses but I'm pretty sure they're wrong. Like:
* GPS coordinates (dunno why they would put them on the ground, anyone with a GPS high enough to see this should know where they are).
* The name of the road. But honestly, what traffic / police chopper really doesn't know what intersection is below? And could they really read 4 inch high letters from 1,000 feet up in a moving vehicle anyhow?

What do you think it is?

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_-bZelCNi-qs/TbBnsBYfbbI/A...

Edit: Ugh - how do I make the image show up if the [img] tags aren't working?

PV?

Looks more like a solar panel to me. Possible some sort of battery backup to keep the lights working in case of a power outage?

--
Drivesmart 66, Nuvi 2595LMT (Died), Nuvi 1490T (Died), Nuvi 260 (Died), GPSMAP 195

The perspective is different..........

sharper4 wrote:

But honestly, what traffic / police chopper really doesn't know what intersection is below?

Yes, I think that's it, probably.

Things look different from the air AND..........
You honestly think that even a ground police officer has the whole city committed to memory so that he doesn't need street signs sometimes ??

--
Magellan Maestro 4250// MIO C310X

I don't think that has anything to do with signage

I believe hose things that look like signs facing up are really there to disrupt airflow in strong winds and keep the arms more stable, and put less stress on the infrastructure of the pole & arm, making them last longer.

--
*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

pv

rocknicehunter wrote:

Looks more like a solar panel to me. Possible some sort of battery backup to keep the lights working in case of a power outage?

That's what it appears to me as well. You can see the same on the farther pole as well.

--
John_nuvi_

It says >>>

"If you can read this you are lying face up in a gutter...STOP DRINKING!"
wink

--
"You can't get there from here"

I know exactly why they are there.

The long horizontal round arms of the light pole can start oscillating up and down violently in a strong wind. So these panels are placed to provide air resistance vertically and reduce the up and down action. They really do work.

--
Nuvi 2460LMT

Lane Control/Restriction

Looks to me as if they might be signage for those situations when lanes need to be closed or traffic re-directed from normal pathways.

Just Being PC

Here in the DFW area the street names change frequently to remain PC. The powers that be are never sure what the street name will be tomorrow. razz

Son Works for City of Fort Worth

My son works for the City of Fort Worth and has a lot to do with GPS and computer tec stuff. I emailed him to see if he knows. Will let you know if he answers.

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

~

mmullins98 wrote:

The long horizontal round arms of the light pole can start oscillating up and down violently in a strong wind. So these panels are placed to provide air resistance vertically and reduce the up and down action. They really do work.

Bingo. Inertial Dampeners.

--
*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

intersection markers

How about intersection markers for aircraft (i.e. medical & police helicopters). Just a thought.

--
Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.

What is It?

It looks like a sign that has moved, probably caused by the wind.

--
Alan-Garmin c340

Answer

"Not sure as there are several traffic sensing systems out there. It senses cars or is a ground plane, I guess."

This is what my son said. Maybe!!

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

Solar panel for emergency flashers

The city of Fort Worth is using TAPCO solar panel in high volume intersections.

You can read the "More cities turn to sun to power up signs" article at USATODAY:

Quote:

Rick Bergholz, owner of TAPCO, a Wisconsin-based company that manufactures and sells the environmentally friendly traffic controls, says solar-powered light "sales have been exploding."

"They've been around since their inception 10 years ago, but it took years to perfect the product and to get approval," Bergholz says. TAPCO's website lists Fort Worth, Tucson and Richfield Township in Ohio among other solar signal clients.

http://bit.ly/fOsheQ

http://bit.ly/gXztoy

.

I wish people would stop using these obfuscated urls. They (the originals) are truncated anyway.

And no, I don't want to use the known tricks to reveal them...

--
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK

You Can't Link Images

sharper4 wrote:

Edit: Ugh - how do I make the image show up if the [img] tags aren't working?

You can't link images like that at all. The board doesn't support the [img] tag, and also doesn't support the HTML img tag.

--
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." --Douglas Adams

Eschew obfuscation

Juggernaut wrote:

I wish people would stop using these obfuscated urls. They (the originals) are truncated anyway.

And no, I don't want to use the known tricks to reveal them...

Advertisement?

TMK wrote:

"If you can read this you are lying face up in a gutter...STOP DRINKING!"
wink

I thought they were ads for 1-800-LAWYER for when you get run over razz

--
Garmin nuvi 1300LM with 4GB SD card Garmin nuvi 200W with 4GB SD card Garmin nuvi 260W with 4GB SD card r.i.p.

I work in the lighting

I work in the lighting industry but I don't recall seeing any devices used as wind reducers I do know there is a huge intrest in using light poles. To hold solar devices to return power to the grid

coordinates

Get the coordinates for one of them and look at it with one of the mapping sites birds-eye view.

--
Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

DFW Intersections

I'm voting for solar panels to charge backup battery UPS in case of power outage. Inertial dampeners sounds logical but those panels do not look large enough to do anything; and besides those poles are made to flex quite a bit under windy conditions.

Vortex breakers

kch50428 wrote:
mmullins98 wrote:

The long horizontal round arms of the light pole can start oscillating up and down violently in a strong wind. So these panels are placed to provide air resistance vertically and reduce the up and down action. They really do work.

Bingo. Inertial Dampeners.

Such devices are called vortex breakers and are used to prevent the oscillations caused by the vortex shedding that would otherwise occur when wind blows across a cylindrical surface.

(An inertial damper would adsorb the effects of the forces. Vortex breakers prevent the presence of the forces.)

Vortex Breakers they are

I used the wrong term for it.. although, they do make inertial dampening devices for traffic signal systems as well.

--
*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

I'd Give You Some Credit For The Right Idea

kch50428 wrote:

I used the wrong term for it.. although, they do make inertial dampening devices for traffic signal systems as well.

I'd still give you credit for that answer. Or, at least the "assist". You had the right idea and led Evert to put the right word up for us.
I'd also like to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who tries to help.
EW66

google images

I tried "vortex breakers" and a few other words with no success.
Then I tried "Solar Traffic Lights"
Is this close enough to the Dallas devices?
http://www.solar-eng.com/SolarTrafficLights.aspx

--
1490LMT 1450LMT 295w

The original post

has the link to the photo... and what is in that photo is not a solar collector. It is the same thing that is on the traffic light on the NW corner of the block I live on. It is a device installed to disrupt airflow on windy days, and aid stability of the signal light arm.

--
*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

Sort of What I was Thinking

TMK wrote:

"If you can read this you are lying face up in a gutter...STOP DRINKING!"
wink

"If you can read this, get your eyes back on the road"

--
I support the right to keep and arm bears.

vortex breaker aka strake

spokybob wrote:

I tried "vortex breakers" and a few other words with no success.
.....

After you posted that, I Googled "traffic light arm vortex shedding" and found lots of studies about the effects and some showing some damping systems but no vortex breakers. The damping systems are pretty much spring/mass/liquid type systems such as described by these typical hits:

http://docs.trb.org/prp/11-1605.pdf
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-center/Completed_Proj/Su...
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/techmrtweb/Reports/Complete%20Repor... (states vortex shedding significant cause of vibrations)

Vortex breakers are simple fins put on the outside of the cylindrical surface. I included them on several of the various tall cylindrical vessels and other devices I designed for use in petroleum/ petrochemical plants while I worked for Stearns Roger in Denver. In that industry the vortex breakers are called "strakes". Google " vortex strake" and you can find pictures of what they look like.

I have to wonder why the investigators and designers of traffic light mast arms apparently seldom include strakes in their studies or designs.

No Think Tanks Today

TMK wrote:

"If you can read this you are lying face up in a gutter...STOP DRINKING!"
wink

I would have to agree. I would guess there are more drunks out there than solar engineers or aeronautical engineers.

Only question is, is it written in Gaelic?

Maybe it is a sign that says

TMK wrote:

"If you can read this you are lying face up in a gutter...STOP DRINKING!"
wink

How about this.
If you can read this, PULL UP

--
1490LMT 1450LMT 295w

I don't see the sign in the

I don't see the sign in the google image?!?

Advertisement

"I thought they were ads for 1-800-LAWYER for when you get run over razz"

Now that is a really good one. I like that!

--
Jerry

Well I posted this question

Well I posted this question on two other sites and got confirmation that it is indeed a wind dampener. I find it odd that a little sign facing the opposite direction of all the other signs is a significant factor in helping reduce the bouncing but apparently that's exactly what it does.

Not sure I buy that answer.

sharper4 wrote:

got confirmation that it is indeed a wind dampener.

I was looking at signal mounts today.
Going down one stretch of road, I counted 5 intersections that had NONE of those horizontal signs. At the 6th one, 3 of the poles had none but the 4th DID HAVE ONE.

I'm pretty sure that the expected wind load would not be different on the one signal mast. Yes, the poles were all the same design.

--
Magellan Maestro 4250// MIO C310X

Way to go Keith

kch50428 wrote:

has the link to the photo... and what is in that photo is not a solar collector. It is the same thing that is on the traffic light on the NW corner of the block I live on. It is a device installed to disrupt airflow on windy days, and aid stability of the signal light arm.

Here is a screen shot of a pdf file.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/spokybob/Winddamper....

This is the pdf file. Look at page 93
http://www.dor.state.ne.us/videos-web/m-r/FHWA%20Sign%20Insp...

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1490LMT 1450LMT 295w

Maybe the wind just blew it

Maybe the wind just blew it up that way.

My guess is it is a locator

My guess is it is a locator for Police Helicopters...
Just as Busses have numbers on their roofs, as does certain police vehicles.... School busses, some Utility trucks, etc...

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!

yes

that is for alien communication use... no surprise when found in south.

Maybe

spokybob wrote:

This is the pdf file. Look at page 93
http://www.dor.state.ne.us/videos-web/m-r/FHWA%20Sign%20Inspection%20Guidelines.pdf

This does look somewhat like the original photo, although it is on the light and not the pole.

Don't know why but something like this is like a treasure hunt. Can't wait to go to Fort Worth tomorrow to look for these!! rolleyes

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

Just talked to the traffic engineering dept

Just talked to the traffic engineering dept and the gentleman listened to my description of the intersection and told me that it was a solar panel.

After all...

....the wind just keeps on blowing. smile