Thursday, March 19, 2009

Out with the incandescents, in with the LEDs

Near my house last week I saw these sitting on a traffic island at a major intersection:


The truck parked next to them was full of boxes with 'LED' written on them. Later I saw them putting them up:


They had to remove the (dust covered) old lights, which allowed for a comparison.


In a few hours all the lights on the main street had been changed, and I was greeted with this shiny bright walk signal.


One wonders how long it will take for them to become covered in dust and soot.

2 comments:

Brian said...

I like how in Taipei the LED guy walks when it's green. The signs have a countdown, and when time starts to run out he runs.

kushibo said...

Brian, that's hilarious. (But really, you shouldn't be running across a street like that... you trip and fall, you're toast... seriously).

What I'd really like to see in Korea (and here in Hawaii) is reflective paint used in for the white and yellow lane markers. When it rains (as it does heavily in both places) you can barely see what lane you're in.

That's where the comparison between the roads ends. Honolulu's road system SUCKS. Road after road — even if nice neighborhoods — are full of bumpy surfaces and potholes, and while Korea doesn't really use street names, the directional signs are prominent and clear; in Honolulu, even at major intersections, you can barely see the one or two small and unlit street signs on the other side of the intersection.

Viva les rues de Corée!