Dhaka South City Corporation has started re-using time-controlled automated traffic signals to control traffic at 20 points in the capital on a trial basis.
The long forgotten traffic signals are being mended and very soon police will be able to use remote controls from the police boxes to regulate traffic.
The lights were made operational in the Bangla Motor and Hotel Intercontinental intersections on an experimental basis but now Shahbag, Rajarbag, Fakirapul, Gulisthan, Doinik Bangla, Paltan, Kakrail, Nightingle intersection, Bangabhaban, Matsha Bhaban, Kodom Peyara, Baily Road, Dhanmondi 27, Russel Square, Dhanmondi 10 and Dhanmiondi 7 intersections are also operating the same way.
None of the North Dhaka City Corporation traffic lights have been mended yet due to administrative complications.
A team of expert engineers are expected to be in Dhaka by Monday to test the lights and hand over the operations to DSCC. If the trial succeeds, all the intersections will gradually operate with these lights.
These lights were set up under the ‘Dhaka Urban Project’ funded by World Bank in the 2001-02 fiscal.
A total of Tk 250 million was spent on these environment-friendly lights, which were supposed to control traffic as well as reduce pollution in accordance with the Clean Air and Sustainable Environment [CASE] Project.
City Corporation had set up ‘countdown timers’ for the lights but they were soon abandoned when they proved to be completely counterproductive.
Immediately after the lights became operational, the entire city saw unprecedented gridlock as motorists failed to adapt to the pre-set timer.
As a result police were forced to abandon the lights and go back to handling traffic manually.
The initiative was supposed to increase mobility in the street by 10 percent but the project failed due to the complications.
However, as per a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office on Aug 16 this year, the city corporations were ordered to hand over the remote controls to the police.
The traffic lights are being modified and remote controls for 88 intersections have already been imported.
“We have handed over the entire operation to the police,” said Shirajul Alam, the director of CASE.
“We have already spent Tk 270 million to import 138 remotes. Each intersection will have 2 remotes,” he added.
Changes in configurations are being made to make the lights operational again.
The police will control the traffic lights at 62 out of the 88 intersections with the help of remotes.
The configurations of the controller diagram are also being changed to so that it is in sync with the traffic lights.