Prior to sometime in the early 1980s, I could swear the Airmount Ave./Route 17 intersection in Ramsey (next to the Dunkin that’s been there forever, and Brother’s and Chili’s) had a traffic light.
I thought Lake and Crescent’s intersection did have a light, too, but I don’t recall the configuration of those roads.
Does anyone have photos, maps, or recollection of these?
I am too young to remember the Franklin Turnpike circle. lol
Yes there were lights on Rt 17 in that area. There was also a light on Race Track Rd in HoHo Kus that crossed 17.
I distinctly remember that one, too.
Yes there were some north of Paramus. There are still traffic lights on 17 south of Lodi.
I'm reminded daily. 😭
side note that Chick-fil-A is a fucking menace when getting off at Lake St. lol
I haven’t gotten food from there in hours.
The lake street light wasn’t removed until the early 1990s.
It doesn’t look like there was ever a light at Airmont where the DD and Chilis is.
You can check out some aerial photos over the years here: https://www.historicaerials.com/viewer
Edit: If I remember correctly Lake Street had two lights for a while before it was turned into an overpass. One was where Lake Street in Ramsey hits 17 and the other was where Lake Street in Upper Saddle River now hits 17 next to Uncle Giuseppe’s. I believe you even had to do a bit of a jig to cross at one point and couldn’t go straight across. Instead you had to turn onto 17, drive to the other light, and then exit 17 again. That might be the other light you are thinking of you thought was at Airmont.
I was flipping between the 1974 and 1979 imagery and it looks like you could still cross at Airmount in 1974, but not by 1979.
I don’t know what the “second” light at Lake St. would be for, but maybe you were thinking about the Airmount light.
OMG. This is f* crazy. Thanks for that link.
Definitely at Lake Street and possibly one more further north.
There was also a light in Waldwick at Prospect street.
Bring this back!
I go through that area several times per week, and people move wayyyyy too fast and recklessly.
An even better solution would be to replace every overpass north of Hackensack with a flat signalled intersection.
I've seen old aerial photos of the 4 & 17 intersection with traffic lights 😁
I was looking at HistoricAerials.com and in 1931, it looks like a cloverleaf is going in, but also 17 is not built yet, and then after that, the “cloverleaf that I remember being totally overloaded through the 1990s.”
In the '90s, I worked in the area as an aerial photographer, and the company, SkyViews, had archives going way back...
I grew up in this area and haven’t been back since the early 2000’s. Is it really built up now?
I think what you may see as new since then are the townhouses on the east side of Crescent from Uncle Giuseppe’s (Pathmark). There used to be an office building on the north side of Lake, but these got turned into playing fields, as well as more townhouses.
And, there’s a whole development of townhouses on the hill behind Toyota.
Also, the golf course further north on Crescent has been turned into a development of huge single family homes.
Wow, so a lot has changed over the years! Thanks for the insight!
Oh, speaking of built up, or maybe the opposite, this is probably the biggest change to the landscape:
https://youtu.be/0XgcOz95hTs
Lake Street and where Franklin Turnpike crosses over? There was definitely two in the late eighties. I remember when that Dunkin had a sit down counter with ashtrays.