Mark J. Price





A strange glowing object brought traffic to a standstill in downtown Akron. The spherical device, implanted in the middle of the road at Ash and Cherry streets, radiated a soft red hue in January 1921.

Summit County�s first �dwarf traffic guide� was intended to prevent auto�mobile crashes at the busy intersection. The metallic bump was nicknamed a �dummy policeman� because it performed the work of a traffic cop 24 hours a day (although it was better viewed at night or on dark, snowy days).

For unfamiliar motorists, the miniature dome looked positively alien � like something out of an H.G. Wells novel.

�Upon investigation, the light was found to emanate from what looked to be a circular piece of red glass,� the Akron Sunday Times reported. �The frame of the guide is cast steel, with a turtle-shaped back which rises about eight inches above the ground, and which is lighted from the interior by eight red bulb eyes.�

The Electrical & Specialty Supply Co. of Chicago manufactured the mushroom traffic light. The first one was installed in Milwaukee and spread (like mushrooms) to Minneapolis, Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis and Akron.

The company pledged �no upkeep cost� and �no replacements,� ensuring that the signal, about 18 inches in circumference with a grated top, was virtually indestructible if run over by a vehicle.

�It is a simple looking thing � a well guarded, brilliant colored hemisphere � set in the roadway as though one had set a flare in the street, but in reality it is somewhat intricate and is carefully worked out on scientific principles of illumination, and those of psychology, too,� the Municipal and County Engineering journal noted in 1921.

Drivers treated the signal like a four-way stop. The manufacturer explained that the mushroom light was in plain view because the motorist�s eye should always be on the street. Placing a traffic signal on a post would distract drivers and turn their attention to the sky, the company said.

Powered by an underground line, the 60 watt lamps produced �a solid ball� of red light after sunset. Yellow or green glass could also be inserted to change the color, although the wisdom of having a four-way green light at an intersection was highly suspect.

Akron police installed the mushroom signal at Ash and Cherry � an intersection that no longer exists today because of the Akron Innerbelt � and watched as automobile collisions subsided. Months went by without cars hitting each other.

However, the obstacle in the road proved to be a hazard for the thin tires of 1920s vehicles. With their view blocked by other cars, drivers sometimes hit the signal at full force. Blowouts ensued.

In 1924, Akron decided to upgrade to automatic traffic signals at select intersections downtown. The automatic lights, placed on posts at the right side of the road, changed from red to green every 30 seconds with a blinking yellow light warning about the switch seven seconds ahead of time.

The new lights were installed in March 1925 on Market Street at the intersections of Howard, Main and High streets. �The green light indicates �go forward,� red light, �stop,� and the amber light in the center of the cluster, indicates �get ready for the change,�?� the Beacon Journal explained.

If motorists would only cooperate, there would be �but few mishaps� on our streets, Safety Director Lloyd D. Carter predicted.

Akron police deemed the new system a success, saying it improved the flow of traffic through downtown. However, every new breakthrough produced a new problem.

Careless pedestrians ignored the signals and stepped out into traffic. Obviously, more instructions were necessary.

�Pedestrians, before stepping from the curb, should look at the light on the pole on the far side of the street which they are about to cross,� Police Capt. A.A. McConnell announced. �If the light is green, they should proceed. If it is red, they should wait until the green is flashing again. If the amber light in the center of the cluster is flashed, it would be safer to wait until the change has been completed.�

McConnell predicted there would be �no hardships and no accidents� when pedestrians �governed their movements� by the signals.

�It is up to the pedestrians themselves to follow the proper directions,� McConnell said. �We furnish the signals and rules of regulations, they must follow them.�

Officers noticed another problem: the traffic signals were confusing to colorblind drivers who couldn�t distinguish between red and green.

�There is no use scolding the unfortunate man who is colorblind,� Dr. H.H. Markwith, Summit County health officer, told authorities in 1925. �The poor fellow cannot help it. Colors to him are just as plain as signs in Russian are to me, and I cannot be blamed because I am unable to read Russian.�

Through a public campaign, colorblind drivers learned the proper order of the lights in order to stop and go as needed.

After receiving the green light, crews installed a dozen other traffic signals over the next year. The signals radiated outward from downtown Akron on main arteries.

Today, the signal section of Akron�s Traffic Engineering Division maintains nearly 400 traffic signals, more than 100 warning flashers and more than 200 school flashing lights throughout the city.

And it all began with a bump in the road at Ash and Cherry streets.

Copy editor Mark J. Price is the author of the book Lost Akron from The History Press. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.