Traffic Lights: Bunnies, Horses, Soldiers?

Little icons have been safely ushering people across the street since the middle of the 20th century. Today, they come in multiple shapes and characters.

But life wasn't always so easy for the pedestrian …

Walk like a pedestrian

As long as people were just on foot, there was no need for traffic lights. They shared the street with each other and people could easily move around each other.

Iconic silhouettes

The first pedestrians created pictographic representations of themselves, but it would be thousands of years before similar icons would be ushering people across the street.

To tell the story of traffic light icons, we have to begin with the very first traffic light invented in the late 19th century.

A matter of life and death

Industrialization – and the urbanization that came with it – made streets increasingly crowded by a chaotic flow of horse-drawn traffic. Accidents happened frequently and pedestrians gambled with their lives in every step they took into the streets.

An enlightened idea

British railroad engineer John Peake Knight proposed to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to implement the same system used in railroads to make London streets safer for pedestrians. His idea included using the same red-green color scheme that has told trains when to stop and when to go since the 1830s.

1868 - London, UK

Give it some gas

It took two years for Knight to see his idea realized at the busy intersection of George and Bridge Streets. His traffic light was erected on December 9, 1868.

The design combined a railway semaphore signal to control traffic by day, a red-green gas lights for night and was controlled manually by a police officer.

1868 - London, UK

Safer streets

The gas lantern would be turned so that the right color light faced traffic. Pedestrians, however, did not have their own signal, but the controlled stop of traffic still allowed them to safely cross the streets.

Unfortunately, the popularity of the gas-lit traffic signal was about to turn …

Red light

Early in 1869, a gas leak caused the traffic light to explode, leaving the controlling police officer severely injured.

London extinguished the gas lights, but similar devices appeared in other places around the world, like the United States and Paris.

1914 - Cleveland, USA

New light

The advent of electricity sped up the evolution of traffic lights. The first regular electric traffic signal was installed at Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street. Red-green lights were still used as indicators.

They were invented in the nick of time as streets were now more crowded – with bicycles, horses, streetcars and motor vehicles.

1914 - Cleveland, USA

Reading the signs

The electric traffic light was manually operated by a switch from a control booth. All the lights were connected so that conflicting signals were impossible.

Pedestrians still did not have a dedicated light, but reading the signals for the street traffic allowed them to cross safely.

First light

The first electric lights for pedestrians were undocumented, but as they started to appear, they kept the red-green color scheme.

But relying on the same signals as car drive was becoming a risk. Something had to be done.

1939 - Washington DC, USA

Do you read me?

Before pictograms took over the streets, typography told people when to walk and when to stay. These signs debuted at the intersection of 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

They were a success and soon appeared at street corners throughout America. To keep things simple, the apostrophe was dropped.

1939 - Washington DC, USA

White light

The letter signs moved away from the red-green color scheme and made white the color for go. While the lettering improved safety, people had to either be literate or familiar with the signs for them to be truly effective.

Icons hit the street

Pictograms experienced a renaissance in the 1950s and were soon used for pedestrian-oriented traffic lights, like these, which were first seen in West Germany.

These pictograms are still seen today. But they are experiencing serious competition…

1969 - Berlin, East Germany

Iconic design

Pictograms experienced a renaissance in the 1950s and were soon used for pedestrian-oriented traffic lights, like these, which were first seen in West Germany.

The East German »Ampelmännchen« were designed by Karl Peglau, a leading traffic psychologist. His longterm studies showed that many road fatalities were caused by pedestrians and vehicles sharing the same signals. The first of these icons were installed at Friedrichstraße and Unter den Linden.

Media personality

The simple signals had character that also helped children and visually impaired people. The »Ampelmännchen« became so popular that they were turned into animated personalities for road safety education on TV shows, radio broadcasts and comic strips.

Today, the beloved »Ampelmännchen« are still in use. They have even been implemented in some West German cities.

1996 - Hampton, Virginia, USA

Let’s count down

It took until the turn of the century for pedestrian lights to get their next update. Countdown timers were first introduced in the 1990s and have been a mandatory feature at all American intersections where the road spans more than 6.4 meters – or take longer than seven seconds to cross. They have further decreased the number of accidents.

Keep on walking

The raised hand indication and the white figure in mid-stride have replaced many of the old Walk/Don't Walk signs in the US, but the old typographic signs can still be seen in some places.

1999 - Taipei, Taiwan

Street art

The first animated traffic light system – called Xiaolüren (»Little Green Man«) was placed at the musical crossroads between Songshou Road and Songzhi Road. They have since danced their way across the country.

Let’s dance!

While the little green man might inspire you to moonwalk across the street, it will encourage you to do at various speeds. The faster it goes, the closer the light is to turning red. Today, this concept is used in other countries, including Spain, Mexico and China.

2000 - Amersfoort, Netherlands

Sofie on the lights

A small Dutch town introduced a female counterpart to the red and green men. The traffic light woman is nicknamed Sofie.

Gender equality

Today, Sofie helps people cross streets in other Dutch towns. Although female icons appear in other countries, they remain a curiosity.

2015 - Vienna, Austria

A couple of lights

To create diversity, inclusive traffic lights were installed in the Austrian city when it hosted the Life Ball and the Eurovision Song Contest. The designs show couples holdings hands or hugging.

Role models

Other European cities also followed Vienna's example and started placing inclusive traffic lights.

2016 - Augsburg, Germany

Smombie lights

A small city in Germany has started testing in-ground lights for pedestrians glued to their phones. The lights start to flash as soon as the regular pedestrian traffic light turns red.

Practising safe text

Other cities are testing ways to solve the problem of texting while talking. Cologne is also testing street-level lights while American cities are experimenting with talking busses that warn pedestrians during turns. Washington, DC, also experimented with a »smartphone lane« for pedestrians.

Autonomous intersections

The MIT Senseable City Lab predicts that once all cars on the road are autonomous smart cars, intersections will operate similar to air traffic control towers. Cars will get the signal as to when they can use the intersection, slowing or speeding as they need to in order to make their slot.

Future blast from the past?

These autonomous intersections combined with autonomous smart cars however, this is unlikely to happen until all conventional cars are off the road. So until then, red means stop and green means go.