Left/Right turn traffic signals in parts of Canada, display a flashing green arrow. Featuring Calgary, Airdrie, Red Deer, St Albert, Edmonton, Banff, Trois Rivieres and Montreal.
Yellow signal heads? Horizontal mounting? Double-red left-turn signals? You know, if it weren’t for the yellow backplates and the flashing green arrows, I’d almost say that Alberta ripped off Texas’ signal design!
Calgary's, yes, similiar to Texas's setup also Saskatchewan, except Regina, also uses this setup. There are local variations as Alberta provincial standard including Edmonton is generally all black which Calgary, Airdrie & Medicine Hat are yellow. If I can recall, San Antonio TX is mostly vertical and some TX cities have double red arrows instead of ball aspects. Thanks for your comment!
This unusual square tube "T style" double mast arm - 5:08 - has gone, recently replaced by typical Calgary single mast arm on the right with solitary vertical double red left turn signal on the median. I'd have replaced by using a standard modern unpainted octagonal/hexagonal metal pole with double mast arms set up just like the old square tube T style version!
Nearly all of the Alberta left turn signals have double reds, not just that intersection, in case you didn't notice :-) Few examples of many include - 01:34, 07:15, 10:45
Whenever I see a flashing green, whether solid or arrow, I just think that light is tripping acid, because there is no way such a thing would happen normally lol.
Some bad news here - the unique Calgary permissive turn signalling - 1:16 - has been phased out in favor of the red or green light displaying at the same time, no longer the green arrow on its own. Shame really. Probably due to standardization of signalling policy across AB/Canada or some new traffic manager having relocated from East not liking it and had it removed or Calgary, over the years, has seen a lot of newcomers moving in who may not be familiar with the signalling so it might have made sense to standardize to be same as Edmonton, Lethbridge etc.
I've asked this before and never got a solid answer, what is the point of flashing the green arrow? I know what it means, an I'm aware of the flashing green ball, but why not a steady green arrow like Ontario or the United States?
My interpretation is that it tells you it's for a limited time, shorter than the other signals facing your current direction (e.g. signal for going straight ahead).
More to do with historical reasons. A solid green arrow may still require yielding to pedestrians (actively being deprecated in Canada), while a flashing green arrow indicated total right-of-way. Also, historically, prior to the 1990s, yellow arrows were rare and didn't have the same meaning as today. In the olden days, the combination of a red light with a yellow right arrow meant that you could turn right on red where it was otherwise prohibited.
In Canada we use a solid Green in are turn lanes that’s indicating a yield to pedestrians and traffic before turning so a flashing green arrow indicates no yielding
BC also uses steady green arrows for protected left turns only. ON & QC are mostly steady GAs too though there are also FGAs in local setups like Montreal City in QC and Durham Region in ON. In most other provinces it seems FGAs are more widespread than steady GAs.
