Sunday, April 01, 2007

Ocracoke's First Traffic Light



After years of increased traffic on Ocracoke residents have been calling for the installation of traffic signals at the island's busiest intersections. One of the most notorious intersections is where Lawton Lane joins Howard Street. It was here in 1925 that the island's very first traffic accident occurred, when Mr. Will Willis and Mr. Albert Styron had a head-on collision (theirs were the only two vehicles on the island at the time).

This photo, taken by Linda Rippe of the Ocracoke Observer, was made shortly after the installation of the light. The backup of traffic is testimony to the urgent need for even more signals. Click here for more information.

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter tells how to make a traditional wooden whistle from a myrtle branch. You can read the newsletter here.

7 comments:

  1. Great Story! I was laughing when I read about the only 2 cars on the island colliding!

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  2. Anonymous11:19 PM

    Thank you for the best laugh we've had all day! See you in two months!
    Steve & Lynn

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  3. Anonymous12:51 AM

    De-light-ful.

    Thanks for the laugh.

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  4. Anonymous11:31 PM

    I'm sure glad that someone remembered and honored April 1...the way it is supposed to be remembered!

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  5. Anonymous7:44 PM

    I looked at that picture and said... OH NO.. ya GOT ME!!

    Took a second look at it and realized no traffic light would come from a tree limb. Nice photoshop job though.

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  6. I'm glad you all enjoyed the April Fool's joke. It was fun to think about, plan, and execute. Actually, that is a genuine traffic signal that we hauled up into the tree. After we looked at the photo I thought, "You know, we could have done this a lot more easily with photoshop!"

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  7. Anonymous9:46 PM

    While catching up on Journal entries, I came across the light-you got me. We all had a good laugh. After closer inspection, I noticed the vehicles had no drivers except for the first car.
    We'll see you in June.
    Terri

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