Early Electric Traffic Signals in Cleveland

Cleveland in the early 1900s was an exciting, thriving, growing and potentially dangerous place. The streets were full of pedestrians, horses, wagons, streetcars and automobiles, which caused traffic jams and many accidents. Electric Traffic Signals first appeared on Cleveland’s street in 1914, when the American Traffic Signal Company installed one on the corner of E. 105^th Street and Euclid Avenue. Designed by James Hoge, it had just two colors, red and green, with the words “stop” and “move.” Safety Director Alfred Benesch tested the new signals in August, 1914. The signals were “placed fifteen feet from the ground on the end of crossarms on poles at the four corners of the intersection of these streets are lights which flash red or green. As the pedestrian or vehicle approaches the crossing, the flashing of the red light is the signal to stop, the green signal is to proceed. Bells on each pole ring when the traffic is to proceed: two long rings for Euclid Ave traffic and one long ring for E. 105th St traffic. A traffic policeman is stationed in a booth at the northwest corner who directs the traffic. In the booth is a telephone and fire alarm apparatus.”

Garrett Morgan was a very successful entrepreneur and inventor and happened to witness a very bad automobile accident at an intersection. The traffic light had already been invented but they were two-way signals. Stop and Go. He recognized that drivers had no advance warning when the Stop signal would be activated. Morgan devised a T-shaped traffic signal that had a third, “caution” signal. When this signal was on, traffic in all directions stopped and intersections would clear. It would also allow pedestrians to cross before traffic started moving again. This third position halted all traffic and was an early version of today’s yellow light.