Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal; Premier
Hon. Omar W. Hodge Minister for Natural Resources and Labour
Other Members of the House of Assembly
Invited Guests
Good morning,

Roadtown, Tortola - It was a wet and soggy Sunday afternoon in October 2007 I met with representatives from A and B Electric out of the Bahamas and visited these sites, when this project was initiated.

We visited three sites, namely: Road Town Round-A-Bout; Admin and Waterfront Drive Intersection; and The intersection at the House of Assembly.

But it was only after a period of careful study, it was decided that as a matter of expediency, we would concentrate on The Road Town Round-A-Bout; and Admin and Waterfront Drive Intersection first.

A & B as you may know was the Consulting group that designed and installed the first Traffic Lights in the BVI: which are at Station Avenue and Walter Francis Drive, and were commissioned on November 1st 2002.

Using the language of Critical Path to describe this event today, I will say that in this Government’s plan for the Modernization of the Territory’s Road Traffic, this is indeed the first of many Milestones.

A Milestone here, being the end of a stage which marks the completion of a phase. 
This of course should come as no surprise, The Ministry of Communications and Works having been consistently reminding the Public of its Road Traffic initiatives, such as:

The extension of the Four Lane Road from the Round-A-Bout to Sea View Hotel; and the coming into force of the Road Traffic Regulations 2009 on August 31st 2009; with which comes the newly reformed Taxi and Livery Commission, together with a brand new category of Transport Vehicles called LIVERY.

 
We are here on this date by design, the importance of which is significant to this Government, for it is the anniversary of our midterm after being elected to office, and I think it is only decent and honourable that we show the people of this territory the goods of our wears. 

And what is a better time than now to do so?

We are also here to commission these Traffic Lights, at these two critical junctions, at a time when arguments on both sides are without shortage, some with merit, some without, but all without any evidence of actual performance. 

As a Government we must act, but before doing so, we must be careful to embrace all the principles of Good Governance, Responsible Stewardship, and of course Strong Leadership.

In this regard I can report to you that we have done all those things, and then some.

Traffic Lights are not new, even by our own standards, so why the fuss?  Let me illustrate my point by telling you how it all started.

Even during the horse and buggy days, traffic in big cities was often heavy. Police officers had to be stationed full time directing traffic at busy intersections.
 
The world’s first traffic light came into being before the automobile was in use, and traffic consisted only of pedestrians, buggies, and wagons. 

Installed at an intersection in London in 1868, it was a revolving lantern with red and green signals.  Red meant "stop" and green meant "caution."  The lantern, illuminated by gas, was turned by means of a lever at its base so that the appropriate light faced traffic. 

On January 2nd 1869, this crude Traffic Light exploded, injuring the policeman who was operating it.

With the coming of automobiles, the situation got even worse.  So Police Officer: William L.  Potts of Detroit, Michigan, decided to do something about the problem. 
What he had in mind was to figure out a way to adapt railroad signals for street use.  The railroads were already utilizing automatic controls.  But railroad traffic travelled along parallel lines.  On the Other hand however, Street traffic travelled at right angles.

Potts used red, amber, and green railroad lights and about thirty-seven dollars ($37.00) worth of wire and electrical controls to make the world’s first 4-way three colour traffic light.

It was installed in 1920 on the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenues in Detroit.  And within a year, Detroit had installed a total of fifteen of the new automatic lights.
At about the same time in early 20th century Cleveland, as in other major U.S. cities, the roads were clogged with pedestrians, bicycles, animal-drawn wagons, and those newfangled automobiles. There were no traffic laws to speak of, and chaos ruled the streets.  Accidents were frequent.

After witnessing one such traffic accident, one Garrett Augustus Morgan felt compelled to improve the situation, with the result being, the precursor to the modern traffic signal, which was patented on November 23, 1923.

What’s remarkable about this story is that Morgan was an African American born the son of former slaves in 1877 in Kentucky.

What is even more remarkable, is that 90 years ago in America, Morgan, an African American: son of former slaves, saw exactly what we are seeing here today, and was bold enough to confront it, even despite being unlike us with the benefit of a shelf product to utilize, he invented a solution.

And yet we are here squabbling about the concept: An African American’s Concept: The Traffic Light.

This Government’s efforts to make this a better place for all of us by installing these Traffic Lights, reminds me of President Obama’s current afflictions, brought on by the never ending attacks from Republican Interest Groups on his Proposed Health Care Plan.

Our plight is no different from his, he ran on a platform that promised the people Health Care Reform, and he won; but now as he tries to develop the plan, a small but vocal minority opposes it. 

The VIP Government ran on a Platform that promised the people modern Traffic Control and Regulations which included these very Traffic Lights, and we won.  And likewise, there is a minority who opposes the idea.

Choices have to be made, and as a Government, doing nothing is not an option.  Every day in hospitals around the world, doctors have to make choices, some include choosing between the lives of a mother and her unborn child, and let me assure you, there is nothing fair about that.  So we learn that in life, not all choices are fair.  And we must accept that.

At this point I would like to commend Premier Ralph T. O’Neal for his strength and conviction in doing what he thinks is right.  I know that regularly he is bombarded with negatives and criticisms whenever there is an attempt to improve the face of the BVI, but his good judgment and perseverance allows him to press on.  This milestone is just another example of his good leadership.

 As to the fuss about our decision to introduce Traffic Lights at the Round-A-Bout, I thought it best to use the words of a neutral, but objective expert on the subject:
“I am going to stick my head above the parapet on this, but here goes anyway.
Many roundabouts when they are first built work perfectly well, but they need reasonably balanced flows on each approach so that the 'give way to the right' rule works.

Over the years flows change for various reasons and one or two approaches monopolise the flows to the detriment of the others. Then the complaints come in, sometimes thick and fast. Some of the bigger ones usually at motorway exits allow traffic to travel round at high speeds and drivers wanting to enter take risks.

There is one on my patch which had over 100 injury accidents per year until lights were put in. Now there are very few accidents, but a lot of disgruntled motorists!

If we had a magic wand to improve matters we would, because it would be far cheaper than lights. In fact lights are regarded as a last resort.

I once suspended the lights at a roundabout at a busy junction as an experiment, and outside peak periods the traffic flowed reasonably well.  But the fire services were experiencing 3-4 minute delays.

When the lights were working they had a switch which gave them a 'green wave' through all the junctions on their main routes out of town.

This stopped all approaching side street traffic until the machines passed.  To the fire service 3-4 seconds may be the difference between life and death, so the lights are back on”.  (Source:  Don't throw things - I'm a highway engineer.)

What you will notice here, is that our motives are consistent with those of the sources quoted.  Be it in the case of the inventor of the Traffic Light who found it necessary to do so as a result of a need for Police officers to be stationed full time directing traffic at busy intersections.

Or the absence of any traffic laws to speak of (in our case that would be the enforcement of those laws), the result of which being chaos ruling the streets, and accidents being frequent.

Or, in the case of the Round-A-Bout, where like many others when it was first built worked perfectly well, but with traffic flows over the years changing for various reasons and one or two approaches monopolising the flows to the detriment of the others.  This is evident with our East West traffic today, and it can only get worse if nothing is done.
When it comes to Traffic Lights, the tendency exists for one to recognize them for their Traffic Control ability at the respective interception of installation, and for obvious reasons.  But of equal importance but seldom recognized is their function of regulating the flows of traffic. 
Of course it is the stopping of traffic at the intersection that produces that calming effect downstream which allows pedestrians to cross the street, but more importantly, motorists are afforded the comfort to freely negotiate uncontrolled intersections.

In closing, let me say that it is time we all come to grips with the fact that change is inevitable, and with the explosion of automobile imports and newer and younger people wanting to be on our roads in those automobiles, Road Town will never be what it was yesterday.  It is in a constant mode of transformation, and we are happy to be a part of it.

Let me also report that the Cabinet at its sitting of July 15th, has approved the commissioning of the Engineering firm URS to produce the contract documents for the construction of a four lane road from the Road Town Round-A-Bout to the Sea View Hotel. 

It was my intent to have that contract sighed today but because of circumstances endemic to the slow rate of progress, that was not to be.  I can assure you that signing remains our number one priority.

It would be remiss of me if I failed to mention that since the inception of this project there have been changes besides the passage of time, and one such change was the engagement of JoClaud Enterprises out of Trinidad and Tobago as Supplier and Contractor. 

This company which came highly recommended to me while away on Official Duty in April last year, has lived up to my every expectations.

In my dealings with the Principal Owner: Mr. John Samuel, I have found him to be a gentleman to his word, who is professional in his every dealing.  I thank him and his team.

And finally, without trying to pre-empt the vote of thanks which I am aware is an item on the program, I will like to acknowledge the work of the Public Works Department; my Ministry and all the other contractors for making this day possible.

It has been a pleasure.