Equipped with ladders, spinning flotation devices, swings and climbing frames, they are intended to keep the birds out of mischief away from traffic, forestry equipment, and road cones. Now at Homer Tunnel, as well as Manapouri power station, Nelson, and in Arthur's Pass, ‘Kea Gyms’ have been set up. Kea, the world's only alpine parrot, have a reputation for their intelligence and for their destructive behaviour, including pulling soft rubber parts off cars. Kea Conservation Trust chair Tamsin Orr-Walker said a theory that kea may be shifting the road cones to try and get food could be true, or maybe they were doing it just for entertainment. “We think the keas listen for the cars in the tunnel and move the road cones between the streams of traffic,” said Milford Alliance Manager Kevin Thompson. The NZTA’s Milford Alliance team were puzzled to find their road cones where not always where they left them-until they checked their cameras at the South Island’s Homer Tunnel, on the popular tourist route to Milford Sound.Īfter reviewing footage from the cameras, the road workers discovered kea were shifting the cones onto the road. Road cones are now so well known they have become part of popular culture. And government agencies, including here in New Zealand, publish precise specifications for their manufacture and use. Today, traffic cones can be seen virtually everywhere-construction sites, streets, parking areas, even corridors and hallways. In 1943 he patented a ‘Safety Marker’ which became the first conical road marker that had the recognisable features of today’s traffic cones made from resilient material, with a heavy base so it could remain upright and rebound from impact, and a top hole and base feet for easy stacking.īy the 1950s road cones were increasingly used to direct traffic and protect workers on US and UK roads. His first version was made by joining strips cut from old tyres. At the time, barriers to protect fresh road markings were made of wood, or even concrete! Scanlon’s idea was to make a flexible device that would spring back if run over and not cause damage to vehicles. They were first developed in 1943 by Charles Scanlon, a painter for the Los Angeles Streets Department, to keep cars away from wet paint. But of course, the hole also makes a handy grip when placing them or pulling them off a stack and helps prevent them sticking too tightly together with suction. The original purpose of these holes was so that you could install a flag on top of them-though today this is rarely done. Each feature of the traffic cone is designed with a specific purpose in mind.įor example, have you ever wondered why traffic cones have holes on top? Modern traffic cones have a seemingly simple design but they are the result of decades of trial and error-of engineering, materials and testing. Whether you call them traffic cones, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, construction cones, pylons or witches' hats cones are one of the most practical and cost-effective traffic control devices available-they can effectively close off a road and redirect traffic with minimal effort, and be stacked up and transported with ease. If you work in roading construction or traffic control, you probably work with traffic cones all the time. Why Do Traffic Cones Have Holes on Top? -and other little known facts…
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