One mystery of life solved.The red beacon-like lights that started appearing on top of streetlights around town last year: I asked several people, and while no one knew what they were for there was no shortage of theories. Something to do with homeland security, and the color coded threat level chart? Cell-phone relay stations? Big Brother? Something to do with taxis, buses, even airplanes?
None of the above.
They signify that an emergency callbox is nearby. The box might be right next to the streetlight, or it might be across the street, but it will generally be very close to the streetlight that has the red beacon.
On many of the streetlights you will also see an orange lamp in which used to be a functioning halogen light bulb. Those orange lights used to perform the same function as the new red ones, to signify a nearby emergency callbox. The red beacons are LED, and are modern upgrades for the old holagen lights.
The question becomes: How many people know this? How many people, in an emergency, would think to look for the red light on the lamppost, knowing that that signified an emergency callbox was nearby? My anecdotal evidence suggests that very few people would know to look for the red light in an emergency. It’s a worthy bit of urban planning, but not when it’s this obscure.
Now that I know what these red lights signify I can add the game to my ever-thickening brain hive. When I see the red beacon I look to see how far away the emergency call box is. How far away is it? How close? I’ve seen a few red beacons which seem to have no corresponding emergency callbox. Damn I’d make a fun dad. “Look, son, a red beacon? Where’s the callbox?” Whoever finds it first wins. |
Anywhere you see a red beacon on top of a streetlight …
… you should see an emergency callbox like this one nearby. |
