Having old and outdated traffic lights contribute to Cebu City’s congestion problems. | CDN File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — While half of the P500 million allocation for the improvement of Cebu City’s traffic system was already approved in August, implementation of the project will take time, says Ronnie Nadera, spokesperson of the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO).
Nadera said this explains why they the continue to use the city’s old and outdated traffic lights that malfunction from time to time.
Just this morning, September 17, 2019, the traffic light located at the junction of Manalili and Junquera Streets in downtown Cebu City malfunctioned forcing CCTO personnel to manually man traffic flow in the area.
Said traffic lights have not been operational as of 4 p.m. today.
“We sent traffic enforcers to the area to man traffic because faulty wiring caused a malfunction on the traffic light there,” said Nadera.
On August 13, traffic lights located in at least 70 intersections also manfunctioned causing a seven-hour traffic jam in Cebu City’s urban barangays.
Read More: Cebu City hit by horrendous traffic jam caused by malfunctioning SCATS
Nadera said that the city’s traffic system is already old and outdated and needs to be replaced. Traffic lights will continue to malfunction no matter how they fix these because the equipment that they now use are already outdated.
CCTO already asked for a P500 million allocation for their shift from the already 30-year-old Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) to a digital traffic system.
The City Council already approved half of their budget request in August as part of Supplemental Budget 2. But actual works will take time to implement, Nadera said. The bidding process alone is very tedious and would take months to complete.
“We will prioritize the main computer, which serves a the main command of the digital system of the entire city’s traffic,” he said.
Nadera also expressed confidence that the other half of their budget request will be included in the 2020 annual budget. | dcb