From Youtube: "When I was a kid in the 70's, there were still a bunch of 2-color signals around New York city, and this is how they changed indications. I was fascinated by these...especially since we didn't have them in Jersey."
This is a good demonstration on how traffic lights work, at least those controlled by mechanical cams. It used to be all kinds of devices were controlled by cams like these, but these cam mechanisms have become mostly replaced by integrated circuit controllers hooked up to mechanical relays or transistors.
"A roundabout in rural Wisconsin is tricked out with decorative brick, intense landscaping and a "complete street" despite there being little to no chance of pedestrians. This is happening while funds for urban improvements -- where there actually are people walking -- remain elusive."
Will this mega-project ever get completed? And at what cost?