Transport Minister Robeson Benn says as it stands there are no plans to review the countdown feature on the traffic lights in the city and its environs, since it is more a matter of the discipline which motorists must exercise.
“We cannot adjust the system because of people’s bad behaviour, and I don’t see any big change in the time sequencing,” the minister told this newspaper on Friday in a brief telephone interview.
Many motorists have complained about the countdown which they say takes too much time, adding that sometimes the very long lines cause traffic congestion.
Benn told this newspaper that the left-turn signal had to be adjusted, since some motorists used the running lane even though they were heading straight.
“So what we have to do is adjust this so that it only shows green when the light for those going straight is also on green,” he said
Benn noted too that the current countdown sequencing of the modern lights catered for all the different classes of drivers. However, he said, some attention would be paid to re-engineering certain intersections to allow for the three-lane traffic system.
He also acknowledged that more attention was also required with regards to road marking and ensuring that road signals were clear enough for drivers to see.
“But the countdown was adjusted before and it came down because the lights are programmable and the feedback we have is that most persons are satisfied,” he said.
Benn felt that the complaints were more a mater of impatience and indiscipline on the part of some motorists, but the onus was on ensuring safety on the roadways. The state-of-the-art traffic lights, officially commissioned on July 21 this year, were installed by Indian firm CMS Traffic Systems Limited, through a US$2.1 million line of credit from India’s EXIM Bank
They are fitted with various features including fixed time and vehicle actuated signals, directional green arrows and pedestrian push buttons.
The project is the result of a bilateral agreement between the governments of India and Guyana, signed last November during the visit of India’s Vice-President Singh Shekhawat here.
