transportation

New traffic lights installed

The contract to install new signals was granted in 2006, but has been delayed for two years.

The new lights will cost the government $15.2 million to install and $7 million to maintain.

Eric Batista/LA PRENSA

red light, green light:The 180 new traffic lights, it is hoped, will reduce the congestion that plagues Panama City streets nearly every day.1039976

After two years of waiting, the Autoridad del Tránsito y Transporte Terrestre (ATTT) announced yesterday that work had started on the installation of 180 new traffic lights in Panama City. The lights, which will be a key part of the Sistema Centralizado de Semaforización, will cost $15.2 million to install and $7 million to maintain. The Spanish company Telvent, which won the contract for the work, will begin installing the lights in the areas reverted to Panama from the U.S., and then move to other parts of the city.

The old traffic lights will be installed in communities in other parts of the country. According to Amarilis Ulloa, the ATTT's head of operations, the first lights will be installed on the Avenida Ascanio Villalaz, at the intersection of Albrook and Clayton, as well as the road that connects Amador with the Avenida de Los Poetas.

The project includes the installation of 66 pedestrian traffic lights, 13 of which will be equipped with devices for use by the disabled.

Cameras will be installed at five intersections throughout the city which will be used to monitor traffic. Those cameras will be hooked up to a traffic control center located on the 19th floor of the Lotería Nacional building on Avenida Cuba.

The cameras will be located at Iglesia del Carmen, the intersection of Vía Transístmica and Calle 64, the San Miguelito bridge, the intersection of Calle 50 and Vía Brasil and Tumba Muerto in front of the Centro Comercial Aventura. Three companies competed for the traffic light contract. The other two were from Mexico and France.

The bid was awarded in 2006, but the project was delayed for two years so that traffic engineering studies could be completed. Telvent Manager Francisco Javier Fernández said the company has done projects in Brazil and China, among other places.

The ATTT is hoping that the new traffic lights and camera system will be able to alleviate some of the city’s traffic issues, especially during peak commuting hours.

Currently, police officers are assigned to some of the city’s busiest intersections to help keep traffic moving at a steady pace. With the installation of the cameras, operators will be able to monitor the situation from the control center and manipulate the lights to keep traffic moving.