New photos from this weekend,
New photos from this weekend, with plenty of more macro experimentation goodness. This is my first camera with a decent macro, so please forgive my temporary indulgence with this feature. I'll be posting normal photos soon.
The first image in the set is worth discussing. The intersection outside our apartment is Masonic Avenue and Fell Street, and sees plenty of traffic. A few months ago, they began work upgrading the old traffic signals, which are small, dark, and off to the sides of the intersection. The city got as far as putting bright new shiny aluminum poles on one side which stretch across the intersection, yet even months after their installation, they are free of new traffic lights. Now, we've lived here for over a year, and up until recently have never seen or heard an auto accident occur outside, but in the past two months alone, we've witnessed at least four major, car-totalling, injury accidents. Previous to the traffic work, we'd occasionally hear a skid once a week or so, and now it's nearly a daily occurrence.
My hypothesis is that the new traffic poles obscure the signals on the right side (I wish I had before/after shots to illustrate this), leaving only the small, dark signal on the left side to show drivers whether they should stop or go (which is non-standard for the city, most traffic signals are on the right and above the intersection). Additionally, the bare poles have a bright, shiny quality that draws the eye to them, and being devoid of lights, my guess is some drivers just don't see a signal, and if there are no drivers in front or beside them to remind them to stop at a red light, they continue through what appears to be a non-signaled intersection. This has resulted in several serious accidents, all involving speeds high enough to spin vehicles out of control and in this last case, flip them over completely.
Interfaces can kill, and in this case, the traffic interface is causing accidents. My hope is that the city of San Francisco completes their projects soon.