MOTORISTS may continue to experience traffic congestion when entering and leaving downtown Cebu City as repairs for several non-functioning traffic lights may take a while as the contractor has yet to assess the problem, according to a City Hall official.
Traffic Management Coordination Committee (TMCC) Acting Chairman Jay Alba told SunStar Cebu on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, that his office was unable to intervene in the repairs of the malfunctioning traffic lights as these are still under the management of the contractors responsible for installing the modernized traffic lights in the city.
The City Government has not yet assumed control over the management of the traffic lights, as the contractors have not completed the project of digitizing all traffic lights in Cebu City, according to Kent Francesco Jongoy, chief of the Cebu City Transportation Office’s Legal and Investigation Section.
Areas with defective traffic lights include P. del Rosario corner Junquera Streets, Dionisio Jakosalem corner Legaspi Streets, Osmeña Boulevard corner Vicente Gullas Street, and along Gorordo Avenue near Asilo de la Milagrosa chapel.
Contractors
The winning contractors for the P480 million new traffic light system are Triune Electronics Systems Inc., a Manila-based technology firm, and Cylix Tech CCTV and Smart Surveillance.
SunStar Cebu reported last January that the Cebu City Government anticipated the new system, consisting of two phases, will be operational by the end of February 2023. The new system is intended to replace the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (Scats), which has been in operation for the past 34 years.
Phase 1 covered 18 intersections on General Maxilom Avenue, Serging Osmeña Boulevard and Colon Street, among others, at a cost of P232 million. It was completed in the last quarter of 2021.
Phase 2 covers 27 intersections and costs P248 million.
Jongoy also said the contractor must obtain “another permit” from the City before it can proceed with the implementation of the project, but he did not specify which permit.
When asked about the delay in granting the permit, Jongoy said it is the contractor’s responsibility to fulfill all requirements before being issued the permit.
Meanwhile, Alba said the contractors had not responded to his inquiry regarding when they will conduct an inspection and carry out repairs. He assured the public that the CCTO has deployed personnel to manage the traffic in the affected areas.
The new traffic lights were installed through underground cables and feature 184 high-definition cameras that detect traffic flow using artificial intelligence that automatically adjusts the signal timing.
Rama’s review
Last March, Mayor Michael Rama said he will review the contract with the winning suppliers after the TMCC rejected the suppliers’ assertion that their traffic light system is the most advanced in the world.
TMCC questioned the efficacy of the new traffic light system, considering the increasing number of malfunctioning traffic lights over the past few months. It learned that Scats was better in terms of speed and real-time adaptive capability to the traffic conditions on the streets, as compared to this new system, according to the TMCC.
The Office of the Mayor has not yet released the results of its review findings. (AML)