MAYOR Edgardo Labella is pushing for the P500 million budget to modernize the traffic lights in Cebu City as proposed by the previous administration.
He has it included in the second supplemental budget that his office has forwarded to the City Council for consideration, the mayor said Friday, Aug. 16, 2019.
He did not make changes in the proposal prepared by the administration of then mayor Tomas Osmeña, he said.
The proposal could not be acted on by the previous administration because a new mayor and a different set of councilors got elected on May 13, 2019.
Labella said the traffic light system in Cebu City has to synchronize with those being adopted by Talisay City and Mandaue City.
Ricardo Barandog Jr., head of the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), said the proposed traffic light system features sensors, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, detectors that can detect the volume of traffic, and a command center.
Based on the traffic volume detected. the signal lights change automatically and prioritize the side where traffic is heavier, Barandog said.
“It’s already digital. The camera is the highlight there,” he said.
Barandog said there is a need to change the whole system, emphasizing that the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (Scats) is already 30 years old.
Francisco Ouano, former CCTO chief, said they had planned to change the whole traffic system upon instructions of Osmeña.
“We had plans to replace the whole traffic lights this year, 2019, because of their age, but there is already a new administration,” Ouano said in a text message.
Ouano described the replacement as “all in one.” He said it has high-resolution cameras, a command center, and is equipped with traffic lights that can withstand lightning and thunder.
The high-res cameras can also be useful in the investigation of traffic violations and crimes.
The modern traffic system can also warn motorists of natural disturbances since it can detect changes in its immediate environment, Ouano said.
Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo, who was chairman of the committee on transportation of the previous council, said the same kind of traffic system being proposed for Cebu City is used in Taiwan.
He visited Taiwan in 2018 to scout for the best traffic light system.
Last Tuesday, Aug. 13, part of CCTO’s digital board that deals with the synchronization of the traffic lights conked out, resulting in traffic congestions at major intersections.
The incident pushed Labella to speed up the modernization of the traffic light system of the city. (JJL, REV)