Upside down traffic light in Richmond Hill turns heads

Regional manager says light is fine

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 26, 2015
By Kim Zarzour

Alert drivers did a double-take Monday as they drove through the intersection of Yonge Street and Blackforest Drive.

One of the four stoplights along the busy thoroughfare was clearly confused, flashing red on the bottom, green on top.

Richmond Hill resident Katie Volikis Karanicolopoulos managed to snap a photo of the upside-down signal and posted it to Facebook, generating a few wisecracks.

“That guy had one job. Fail,” quipped Jenn Stergios.

“I wonder where they find these contractors,” mused Christine Volikis.

“These things make me laugh,” Volikis Karanicolopoulos said, “then I think how much this redo will cost and it makes me stop.”

But this one didn’t cost a cent.

Paul Nause, manager of traffic signal operations with the Region of York, said traffic signals do occasionally appear flipped, usually as a result of strong winds or being hit by high truck loads, but it is extremely rare.

On hearing of the problem, operations staff investigated Wednesday morning and found all was right at the intersection.

“The traffic signal displays were positioned correctly. There is no maintenance record that there was any issue with the vehicle signal displays at this location.”

That, says Volikis Karanicolopoulos, is just plain weird.

“If I didn’t snap the photo I would think that I was imagining things ... Welcome to the twilight zone!”

Find a misaligned signal? Contact York Region roads and traffic dispatch via Traffic@york.ca or 1-877-464-9675 ext. 7-5200.