FALCONER – A new traffic light installed to help ease congestion and make sure students can cross one of Chautauqua County’s busiest roadways will be fully functional on Monday.
The signal on the corner of E. Main St. and East Avenue is “state of the art,” featuring a flashing yellow arrow.
“The left turn arrow will not be green,” said Town of Ellicott Police in a Facebook post. “It will cycle from a flashing yellow to a solid yellow to a red light.”
New York State Department of Transportation said that the flashing yellow arrow will be a real time savor for motorists.
How it works: a flashing yellow arrow signals drivers to yield to oncoming traffic but allows them to turn left if it is clean. Eventually the arrow will turn solid yellow warning motorists that the light is about to turn red.
Turn signals w/ flashing yellow arrows are coming to your town! After green-yellow-red phase, turns to flashing yellow. Let’s more ppl turn pic.twitter.com/pMY0wXIlZt
— NYSDOT (@NYSDOT) September 18, 2017
“In a national study conducted by the Transpirtation Research Board, drivers made fewer mistakes with the new signals than with traditional left turn arrows,” said the New York State Department of Transportation in a statement on the new technology.
This style of traffic signal has been in existence in New York State for over six years now, but this light, and a few in the Buffalo area, are the first of its kind in Western New York.
In a recent interview Falconer Central School Superintendent Stephen Penhollow said concerns surrounding the intersection have been on the district’s mind for years, but when two students were struck in 2016, the issue was brought to the forefront.
“It (the accident) definitely brought the light back into attention,” said Penhollow. “Student safety is our main concern and it (the light) addressed many of the concerns that we’ve had for many years.”
Penhollow said, without the support of New York State Senator Cathy Young, Assemblyman Andy Goodell and local officials, the light would not have been installed.