Numerous traffic lights remain unrepaired, prompting one local company to come up with its own system which it says it can design and manufacture for a fraction of the cost of imported lights.
There has been no analysis of how many lights are down in the city. Certainly the stretch along Camp Street has been 'lightless' for several months and at the junction with Lamaha Street there have been several accidents. The cost to the country in terms of injuries and police reports is unquantified but probably significant. And there seems to be no immediate plans to have lights fixed or replaced. In July Traffic Chief Michael Harlequin told this newspaper that the traffic signals are part of the Road Engineer's Department of the Ministry of Public Works with the police ensuring the lights work in keeping with their mandate of controlling traffic flows.
Communications Consul-tant, Ministry of Public Works and Communications, Ajay Baksh previously said that although the ministry has control over the erection of traffic lights, jurisdiction is then passed to the traffic department which oversees their functioning.
Several of the signals have been around between 35 to 40 years and some have been damaged by contractors, making it difficult to undertake repairs.
That is where Guyana Electrical Consultants come in. Operations Manager, Ray Phillips says the company sent a document to 'A' Division Commander Paul Slowe in June highlighting the problems and offering a low-cost but reliable solution. They have made a prototype that works off an electronic controller normally used in the manufacturing sector. This has been programmed to a 30-second red/amber/green cycle that is fail safe. (Green can never be on one side of the unit when on the other.) Phillips says this would be 60% cheaper than imported systems and could include Walk/Don't Walk signals for pedestrians which also sound for the blind. The units would be part of a larger network that could actually control traffic flow throughout the city depending on vehicle density. This would require cameras or sensors in the road to help controllers make decisions. Phillips notes that one of the few lights now working in the city, at Brickdam and Avenue of the Republic (it has since broken again) is not programmed quite right as it gives equal time to traffic along the avenue when there is far more traffic on Brickdam.
This causes backups to Hadfield St during busy periods. Such minor adjustments can really help to ease congestion and also when managed properly can help cut down on fuel consumption. Phillips suggests that the traffic department really should not be spending precious man-hours on maintenance of a system that is purely technical. This should be outsourced to private companies. He also notes that the continued absence of lights is forcing ranks to spend a lot of time at intersections directing traffic. On the East Bank road this is particularly the case and many more officers could be freed up if lights were in place.
He also notes that even when lights are fixed vandals are stealing the covers. This could be solved by hanging lights high in the centre of the intersection instead of on each corner.
But Philips notes the company has its own obstacles to overcome including the onerous pre-qualification requirements from overseas funding agencies, including the IDB, that essentially eliminate Guyanese contractors from taking part in the bidding process. Instead he is calling for a local solution to a local problem and one that would create jobs both in the short- term in terms of manufacturing and installation of the systems and also in their maintenance.
To that end he is requesting that the traffic department identify one intersection where the company could demonstrate the reliability of their unit.