Does anyone know the reason why the lights along the most dangerous parts of the west bound BA Expressway don't work. Driving in from Broken Arrow the other night, I noticed the lights around the curve at Sheridan do not work. Also, the lights around the curve after the 15th street exit do not work. What is the deal? These are really the only two curves to negotiate driving into downtown and neither one is very well lit. Are these lights in need of repair or is this some strange idea by the city? If my memory serves me correctly, the lights around the 15th street exit have not been working since before the ice storm.
Lights on I44 are also out in what appears to be (non) strategic places. It doesn't really bother me though since I drive with my headlights on.
quote:
Originally posted by carltonplace
Lights on I44 are also out in what appears to be (non) strategic places. It doesn't really bother me though since I drive with my headlights on.
LOL!
Oh snap
That being noted, ( and yes I deserved that one) does anyone have an idea why these two areas don't have functioning street lights? Maybe I'm getting old and I just prefer more light on the road at night (even with my headlights on.)
I was surprised to see that the RiverSide jogging trail has street lights. or should I say "trail lights".[B)]
quote:
Originally posted by carltonplace
Lights on I44 are also out in what appears to be (non) strategic places. It doesn't really bother me though since I drive with my headlights on.
There are large stretches of street light outages on most of our local highways:
I-44
U.S. 64/51
I-244
However, I notice that virtually EVERY light is left burning in our new City Hall over the weekend.
Saturday nite I was downtown, working for the FBI......That's when I noticed OTC/City Hall for all but one floor with all interior lights ON.
I thought it was lack of manpower and funding, but I also remembering hearing that thieves have been stealing the copper wires.
I think the BA stretch at 15th Street and the winter toboggan rails has been out since the last time we started complaining about street lights being out.
I thought about this time last year they said they had copper thefts and other issues and they only have one crew who repairs street lights so I bet he's pretty cranky by now.
quote:
Originally posted by carltonplace
Lights on I44 are also out in what appears to be (non) strategic places. It doesn't really bother me though since I drive with my headlights on.
Got a big smile out of that :-)
I know a lot of people believe they need the lights to see the painted lines, but in reality, Retro-reflective lines and signs reflect light back to the source, so they work better with your headlights than with streetlights.
To be fair, though, if we have to have expensive -to-maintain lights, curves, ramps and interchanges are more critical than the long straight stretches.
Lighting expressways like public streets only gives pedestrians the false impression they can be seen by traffic.
So downtowndweller can come up to speed:
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7753
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4110
They have been doing rolling outages on street lamps for years now.
I always feel especially fuzzy when they darken I-44 on what is documented as the most deadly stretch of highway in the state. Glad to know we can save a few bucks on the lighting budget (while of course wasting tons of it elsewhere) at the expense of a few lives.
I think I would rather fewer lights, spread out further. If you removed every other light, I think I would be okay. That way, the road is still visible, and you just cut your costs in half (maintenance, energy costs, etc).
quote:
Originally posted by carltonplace
Lights on I44 are also out in what appears to be (non) strategic places. It doesn't really bother me though since I drive with my headlights on.
GOOD ONE!!!
quote:
Originally posted by YoungTulsan
They have been doing rolling outages on street lamps for years now.
I always feel especially fuzzy when they darken I-44 on what is documented as the most deadly stretch of highway in the state. Glad to know we can save a few bucks on the lighting budget (while of course wasting tons of it elsewhere) at the expense of a few lives.
Oh, what a load of crap.
The deaths are occurring on that stretch because of traffic congestion and driver error, not because it's too dark at night.
By that logic, that stretch of I-40 near Texola should be a death trap because it's pitch-black out there after sundown.
If you need street lights to be driving at night, you shouldn't be behind the wheel at all.
quote:
Originally posted by rwarn17588
quote:
Originally posted by YoungTulsan
They have been doing rolling outages on street lamps for years now.
I always feel especially fuzzy when they darken I-44 on what is documented as the most deadly stretch of highway in the state. Glad to know we can save a few bucks on the lighting budget (while of course wasting tons of it elsewhere) at the expense of a few lives.
Oh, what a load of crap.
The deaths are occurring on that stretch because of traffic congestion and driver error, not because it's too dark at night.
By that logic, that stretch of I-40 near Texola should be a death trap because it's pitch-black out there after sundown.
If you need street lights to be driving at night, you shouldn't be behind the wheel at all.
When the lights are on, it doesnt make it any less dangerous. Expressway lights are casting distinct shadows in this photo of the scene where a pedestrian was hit and killed:
.
(http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2008/20081126_autoped.jpg)
The kicker is, the pedestrian was probably lulled into a false sense of security by thinking the expressway lights would help the motorist to see him. Dead Wrong. (//%22http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4110%22)
It amazes me how many people die walking on expressways in Tulsa. Particularly I-244. It is an expressway with 8 lanes, a 60 MPH speed limit, crossing every mile at the most, sporadic pedestrian bridges, concrete barries at the mid point and fences to stop people walking into the road.
How would walking across it seem like a smart move? Lights or not.
One thing that alway's made me feel weird was when my vehicle would pass right under the street light and it would go out.
I alway's think, now what's the odds it would go out right when my vehicle got there. Then again maybe I just didnt see the two copper thief's at the base of the pole.
I hate to think the 69-year old man who was killed crossing the BA believed the streetlights there would keep him safe.
(http://kotv.images.worldnow.com/images/10824640_BG2.jpg)