Talk:Golden Mile (Leicester)

Contradiction

"The origin of the name is often, mistakenly attributed to the many shops selling gold jewellery. In fact, the name was first used in the late 1960s and early 1970s when a proliferation of yellow-amber traffic lights appeared along a short stretch of road (one mile to be exact)."

On the other hand, Belgrave, Leicester states: "This area now has a large, vibrant Asian community featuring the Golden Mile (Leicester): a stretch of road a mile long so called due to its particularly high concentration of shops selling gold."

I would imagine that the former is correct, as it indicates that the latter is a common misconception. However, I've a recollection that sometimes one comes across a misconception that something is a misconception; moreover, neither statement is sourced.

Can anyone find a source to set us straight?

Moreover:

• What is a "yellow-amber traffic light"? We have only three colours of traffic lights – red, amber and green – not yellow or yellow-amber. Besides, most traffic lights come in sets containing all three colours. I'm guessing that what it really means is that there is/was a high concentration of traffic lights on that stretch of road, and the amber light was for some reason singled out and likened to gold, and so "Golden Mile" it became.
• What does "one mile to be exact" mean – that the measured distance between the first and last sets of traffic lights happens to be exactly a mile?

— Smjg (talk) 13:04, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

The best approach is to see what reliable sources state. A search for '"golden mile" Leicester' found several sources, all of which support the gold jewellery explanation. I didn't find a single good source that supports the traffic lights theory, and why would traffic lights (which would be on amber for a minority of the time) give rise to the name anyway? Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4]. --Michig (talk) 14:55, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

I've found one book saying "The epithet here suggests the golden rice that accompanies many curry dishes or even the golden color of the dishes themselves." but that's it. Nothing about traffic lights. I've cut the claim that this is a "misconception" and quoted the BBC for the source of the name being actual gold. --Lord Belbury (talk) 19:16, 5 February 2018 (UTC)

Just a guess about the "yellow-amber traffic lights": perhaps they meant *street* lights rather than *traffic* lights ManlyMatt (talk) 02:23, 20 June 2023 (UTC)