Special Agent Dale Cooper: “Wanna know why I’m whittling?”
Sheriff Harry S. Truman: “Okay, I’ll bite again. Why are you whittling?”
Cooper: “Because that’s what you do in a town where a yellow light still means slow down and not speed up.”
The brief exchange in the Pilot episode between Agent Cooper and Sheriff Truman about traffic lights in Twin Peaks was the perfect summation of what viewers could expect from the sleepy little town with a population of 51,201. To paraphrase Sheriff Truman in Episode 1.003, Twin Peaks is “different” and a “long way from the world.” The pace of life was slower, which was indicated by the appearance of traffic lights (or stoplights if you prefer) seen throughout the series. So slow down. Stop and read this Setting the Stage article that takes a look at those lights, which surprisingly didn’t appear as many times as I remembered.
TRAFFIC LIGHT IN NORTH BEND, WA
The intersection where the crew shot the traffic light most often seen in the series has a rather interesting history in the town of North Bend, Washington.
Located at the corner of Bendigo Boulevard and North Bend Way in North Bend, Washington (next to Twede’s Cafe, the film location for the Double R Diner), the traffic light was one of the first to be installed in the small town. The coordinates are 47°29’43.7″N 121°47’13.0″W.
According to a Snoqualmie Valley Record article from October 12, 1978, the traffic light was first turned on at 3:00 p.m. on July 1, 1965.
Prior to its installation, traffic was regulated by a flashing light as the intersection which was a hotspot for accidents. For several years, the newly installed traffic light was manually operated on weekends due to the high volume of both pedestrian and automobile traffic. The I-90 bypass eventually helped diminish traffic yet many still recalled the long waits at this one intersection.
TWIN PEAKS PILOT
The traffic light first appears in the Pilot episode just after Special Agent Cooper addresses the town hall meeting.
Footage of this traffic light was captured during the first day of shooting on February 21, 1989.
A solitary light is shown changing from green to yellow to red.
The red traffic light is seen again at the end of the Pilot episode just before Sarah Palmer is shown resting on her couch.
Here’s a look at the same spot where this traffic light was shot for the Pilot.
EPISODE 1.003
Traffic lights return in Episode 1.003 in a transition scene just before Shelly Johnson reenacts Leland Palmer’s breakdown at his daughter’s funeral using a napkin dispenser.
The red stop light returns at the end of episode 1.003 after Leland Palmer is escorted out of The Great Northern Hotel by Deputy Hawk and Agent Cooper.
Some of the end credits are shown over the hanging red light. This the final appearance of the traffic light in Season 1.
EPISODE 2.001
In Episode 2.001 of Season 2, the red traffic light is superimposed over images of doughnuts when Agent Cooper “lays it all out” at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department.
EPISODE 2.003
The previously used green-to-yellow-to-red traffic light footage from the Pilot Episode is used again in episode 2.003.
The light is shown just after James Hurley chases after Donna Hayward out of the Palmer house.
The traffic light transition fades into Maddy talking with Leland Palmer in episode 2.003.
EPISODE 2.004
Episode 2.004 offers a daytime/dusk look at the traffic light. Notice the snow–covered Mount Si (the real “Twin Peaks”) in the background.
The vintage traffic light from the series has been replaced with a more modern version in North Bend.
EPISODE 2.013
The same red light from 2004 returns in episode 2.013, just after James and Evelyn are seen in her garage, and before Nadine Butler Hurley speaks with Mike Nelson at the Double R Diner.
EPISODE 2.020
The final appearance of the traffic lights in Season 2 is found in episode 2.020. They recycled the intersection shot from episode 1.003 for a montage of empty places throughout the town.
TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME
In Twin Peaks: Fire Walk Me, there are few appearances by traffic lights beginning with the famous Intersection scene. I included this traffic signal, even though it’s different than the other traffic lights I’ve been discussing.
Today, the intersection contains a four-way stop, no traffic light can be found.
SPARKWOOD & 21
The traffic light most notable in the film is found at “Sparkwood and 21” (according to James Hurley from episode 1.001). This light is shown just after Laura asked James to take her home following an intense conversation in the woods.
Laura and James stop at the light around 12:30 a.m. and Laura proceeds to jump off the motorcycle.
The real location for this intersection is found at 396th Drive SE in Snoqualmie, Washington. See this article for more details about this film location.
There is no actual traffic light at this spot which means it was added for the scene. The road turns into Reinig Road, home of the Twin Peaks Welcome Sign. The spot covered by trees in the distance is actually Ronette Pulaski’s bridge.
This particular traffic light appears to be a command light with the words “Stop” and “Go” printed on the colored glass. It is most likely a Crouse-Hinds Type DT signal which were produced from 1952 to 1959.
The light changes to yellow then red before James rockets away in the dark on his bike. This is the final appearance of the traffic light in the motion picture.
SEASON 3 – PART 6
The traffic light first seen in the Pilot Episode returns in Twin Peaks Part 6 on Showtime.
It follows a scene where Dougie Jones touches the Lucky 7 folder in his kitchen.
SEASON 3 – PART 17
Part 17 uses footage from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
This time the traffic light from “Sparkwood and 21” is shown in black and white. The light is shown changing from green to yellow.
Then it cuts to James and Laura stopping at the light. This is slightly different than how it was shown in the film.
After Laura departs, the same scene plays out from the film – James waits until the light changes to red before speeding away.
SEASON 3 – PART 18
The final time traffic lights are shown is in Part 18 when Cooper/Richard and Carrie Page cross a bridge into Twin Peaks.
The bridge is located at 153 Meadowbrook Avenue in Snoqualmie, Washington. It’s the same bridge seen both in the Pilot Episode on in the background of the Fat Trout Trailer Part in the film. See this article for more details about this historic bridge.
OTHER TRAFFIC LIGHTS FROM TWIN PEAKS
When researching this story, I thought I would find more scenes with the traffic lights. They made such an impression on me when I first watched the series. Perhaps it was because no other television show that I can recall prior to Twin Peaks incorporated extended scenes of a traffic light changing colors.
Then I remembered the traffic light was included on the cover of several VHS releases of the series.
The cover of the VHS release of the pilot episode contained a traffic light complete with what appears to be a red flame for the red light.
The cover for episodes 1.001-1.005 of the 1993 VHS release of the entire series also contained a traffic light on the front AND back.
The laser disc release also had similar artwork. This is such a gorgeous cover.
For a great history of Twin Peaks on home video, read this article that was first published on Dugpa.com.
Next time you see a yellow light, just remember what Agent Cooper said – slow down, not speed up.
