Over 100 traffic lights in Kuching City up for upgrading

KUCHING: The Ministry of Local Government will upgrade over 100 traffic lights in the city with Smart system and sensor within the next five years to manage the traffic flow better.

Its minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian said more than 30 traditional traffic lights mainly in the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and Padawan Municipal Council (PMC) areas had been installed with the Smart system last year.

“There are over 150 traffic lights citywide and we are hoping to fix them with the Smart system progressively,” he told reporters after launching the new Smart traffic lights at the Kpg Haji BakiJalan Batu Kitang junction here yesterday.

“We will want know the total funding required to implement this system. Funding may come from different agencies. But instead of waiting, we will do this progressively on a yearly basis using our own money, but in small numbers,” he added.

The intelligent system, which is connected to a computer in a central traffic control room, uses cameras and sensors to understand what’s happening on the streets and transmit realtime data to regulate the traffic flow accordingly.

“The system, fitted with artificial intelligence, can detect if there is a concentration of vehicle or no vehicle at the different intersections and junctions. With the signals, the system can make its own timing to route traffic.”

The present traffic lights have fixed time interval for green and red signal, which do not provide any flexibility.

Dr Sim thus reassured the people that traffic lights in the city within the next five years would be smart ones.