B.V.I. Tuesday, July 21 – Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Julian Fraser RA has welcomed the completion of the installation of traffic lights and signals in Road Town and is now looking forward to the commissioning later this month.
“We would like to thank JoClaud Enterprises Limited for the excellent job they have done with the lights and we look forward to a sustained relationship,” Minister Fraser told the Department of Information and Public Relations. “Now that the traffic lights are completed, we are awaiting the completion of the road works so that plans can be made to commission the lights by the end of the month,” Minister Fraser added.
Director of JoClaud Enterprises Limited, Mr. John C. Samuel, was in the Territory last week to finalise the installation of the cabinet at the intersection of Waterfront Drive and Admin Drive. The cabinet is regarded as the brain of the traffic lights which controls and monitors the system.
The technicians briefly tested the lights to ensure all systems were intact and subsequently made minor adjustments. “We looked at the sequencing of the traffic signals to make sure that they corresponded to what the controller in the cabinet was doing; we looked at some of the times and concluded that more green time needed to be added on certain phases especially on Waterfront Drive. In addition we tested the pedestrian crossing to ensure that there was sufficient time for pedestrians to cross the road,” Mr. Samuel told the Department of Information and Public Relations in a GIS Radio Report.
Mr. Samuel highlighted the fact that unlike the eagle vision technology that is set for vehicle detection, the pedestrian times are standard; therefore, people need to be responsible citizens when using the crosswalk so that they do not impede the flow of traffic.
“People should not press the button if they do not intend to cross the road, do not press the button and walk away and do not press and walk with the green light, which is termed as jaywalking,” Mr. Samuel concluded.
To learn more about the traffic lights project, the public is encouraged to listen to the final in a series of GIS Radio Reports today Tuesday, July 21 on ZVCR 106.9 FM at 6:15 p.m., ZBVI 780 AM at 6:35 p.m. or on ZROD 103.7 FM at 10:00 p. m. The radio report will also air on Wednesday on ZKING 100.9 FM at 7:45 a.m. and on ZBVI at 8:35 a.m.
On March 13, 2009 the Government signed a contract with JoClaud Enterprises Limited for the installation of traffic lights and signals at the Road Town Roundabout and at the intersection of Admin and Waterfront Drive in an effort to relieve the traffic congestion and to provide a more pedestrian friendly capital.
British Virgin Islands News