by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Six of seven new traffic lights installed last year will be turned on come March 22, according to an Engineer with the Department of Public Works, George Gilbert, during Traffic Talk on the March 14 broadcast of Island Tea on WINN.
This decision followed a test of the six intersections last Thursday (March 10), which included testing the sensors, pedestrian crossing time, the sequence of lights, and generally, the timing of the lights.
“Now what we did on Thursday (March 10) we actually turned on the light just to test them to ensure that the bulbs were workings, the synchronising was done, the walk time came on, we ensured that the sensors were picking up what they were supposed to pick up, the GPS was working. We went through the six signals with the police, and we are all satisfied that they are working,” said Gilbert.
The lights will be turned on in the following areas:
Junction of Wellington Road and Dickenson Street at the Gas station
Upper College Street Ghaut and Cayon Street
Lower College street Ghaut and the Bay Road
Port Zante West (RAMS Supermarket/Courts)
Port Zante East (Sands Complex)
Sandown Road and Bay Road
The project commenced in Jan 2021, installing seven traffic lights around Basseterre, the second phase of the traffic light project.
The seventh intersection of the project, Bird Rock and Bay Road, has posed several problems.
Slip lanes were being installed to ease traffic in the area, and the lanes were expected to be completed in May 2021.
Restrictions on movement delayed the completion of the project during high COVID-19 transmission, as well as complaints from property owners and business owners of the surrounding areas, and the inability to do an accurate vehicle count to help understand the flow of traffic and the best way to program the lights.
A date for the commissioning of the Bird Rock and Bay Road traffic light is pending further consultation.
