[markobr] Green man's holiday

[markobr]

Some years ago while on holiday I visited an island. The island was nearly car-free, there were no horse carriages, and I didn't even see a bicycle. However, there were traffic lights on the island. Why?

[Doriana]

Were the traffic lights operational? Did they serve their ordinary purpose, i.e. controlling traffic flow?

Were they in a museum? used as decoration?
Were they used as a way to control entry into a building? E.g. a green light meant that the next customer/guest/... could enter the building?

[markobr]

Were the traffic lights operational? Yes. Did they serve their ordinary purpose, Yesish. i.e. controlling traffic flow? Yes.

Were they in a museum? No. used as decoration? No.
Were they used as a way to control entry into a building? No. E.g. a green light meant that the next customer/guest/... could enter the building? No.

[Doriana]

Were they controlling the flow of pedestrian traffic? animals?
Vehicles relevant at all?

[markobr]

Were they controlling the flow of pedestrian traffic? Yes. animals? Not usually.
Vehicles relevant at all? Yes.

[klondike mary]

Is the nature of the island relevant? Is it e.g. a military base? Is it mainly agricultural? Size relevant?

[Doriana]

Vehicles: on land? On water? In the air?

[GalFisk]

Were there other wheeled vehicles? Did the light prevent collisions? Jams? Crowding? Confusion? Transport to or from the island relevant? Tourism?

[markobr]

Is the nature of the island relevant? Yes. Is it e.g. a military base? No. Is it mainly agricultural? No. Size relevant? Yes.

Vehicles: on land? On water? In the air? This.

Were there other wheeled vehicles? Yope. Did the light prevent collisions? This. Jams? Crowding? Confusion? Transport to or from the island relevant? Yes. Tourism? Yes.

[GalFisk]

Is traffic crossing an airstrip? Helipad? Other helicopter landing area? Does a red light mean ground traffic must stop for aircraft?

[markobr]

Is traffic crossing an airstrip? Not crossing, but an airstrip is relevant. Helipad? No. Other helicopter landing area? No. Does a red light mean ground traffic must stop for aircraft? Yes.

[GalFisk]

Is traffic passing near the end of an airstrip? And must wait for low flying aircraft to pass? I think I've seen a picture of something like that.

[markobr]

Is traffic passing near the end of an airstrip? Yes. And must wait for low flying aircraft to pass? Yes. I think I've seen a picture of something like that.

Not much more to find out, but before spoiling it, I would like to see an explanation why they organised traffic in such a strange way. No details (which I probably wouldn't know anyway), just a general reason.

[GalFisk]

Did they have a choice? Was there only one suitable location for an airstrip? One really good location? Had other things gradually encroached on the airstrip?

[markobr]

Did they have a choice? Not much, at least not without running into other problems. Was there only one suitable location for an airstrip? Yesish. One really good location? Noish. Had other things gradually encroached on the airstrip? No or irrelevant.

[GalFisk]

Was the airstrip used: frequently? Rarely? Only during parts of the year? More now than earlier? By other people now than earlier? Did road traffic relevantly increase? Do tourists arrive by pane? Leave by plane? Wait at the light? Is a specific tourist attraction relevant? Is the airstrip itself an attraction?

[markobr]

Was the airstrip used: frequently? Not quite sure, but assume yes. Rarely? Only during parts of the year? No. More now than earlier? Possibly, but not really relevant. By other people now than earlier? Well, the individuals may change, but nothing more. Did road traffic relevantly increase? No. Do tourists arrive by pane? Yes. Leave by plane? Yes. Wait at the light? Yes. Is a specific tourist attraction relevant? Yesish. Is the airstrip itself an attraction? No.

[GalFisk]

Is the island itself the attraction? Is something natural an attraction? Something manmade? Something historical?

[Doriana]

Is the island relevantly narrow? mountainous? Type of soil relevant?

[markobr]

Is the island relevantly narrow? Yes! mountainous? No. Type of soil relevant? No.

This was the last bit of information I wanted you to find out, time for a

======== SPOILER =======

This is the story of the islands of Heligoland and Düne, two quite small islands in the North Sea, about 50 kilometers off the German coast. Heligoland is quite a popular destination for tourists, but if you want to go there by plane, you will land on Düne which is even smaller than Heligoland (There is a taxi on Düne that will take you to a ferry that will take you to Heligoland proper). Now Düne isn't only Heligoland's airport, but you can also rent holiday homes just there (although not many), there's a camping ground, nature conservancy is also an important issue there (lots and lots of seals, for example), and there are many people staying on Heligoland who also make a day trip to Düne. Add a few measures for coastal protection, a lighthouse, and possibly a few things I don't know about, there's not much room on Düne, so they sometimes have to improvise in order to reconcile the different requirements. So there's a road very close to one of the airport's airstrips, and when a plane starts or lands there, walkers and the occasional taxi must wait for the green man to show up...

You can look at the situation on

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/54.18685/7.91341