Glendale: 1952 (courtesy San Fernando History Digital Library) 

In the 1950’s, Californians measured progress by what they tore down or destroyed: ornate lampposts, Victorian houses, poor black neighborhoods and hundreds of thousands of acres of citrus groves.

This photo, from the archives of the San Fernando History Digital Library, captures the scene in 1952 before the removal of Glendale’s last moving arm traffic signal that spelled out in plain English: “Stop” or “Go”.

Maybe there was some underappreciated utility in this type of device that anatomically mimicked the arms and respect of a real human traffic cop. Colored lights with [ENGLISH ONLY] words carried weight– and the authority of the law– that any motorist (or red light runner) would surely understand.

What we need in 2005, to stop the epidemic of potentially fatal red light dodging, is a $2000 penalty. That’s right: any driver who so selfishly and recklessly endangers his life and the lives of others on the road, will face a two thousand dollar fine. Governor Schwarzenegger, drowning in the polls as the state budget deficit dives upward, might as well propose this sure- to- be- unpopular punitive measure.

The good citizens of Glendale, who so naively pulled down this gracious guarantor of motoring safety in 1952, would surely agree that red means stop and green means go. Those who violate our social and legal rules of the road must be accountable to the law.