CCTMC: Claims on benefits of traffic light project still premature

The Cebu City Traffic Management Coordination Committee-TMC Board clarified that neither from the board nor anyone from the Cebu City Transportation Office is authorized to speak and endorse the claimed benefits of the traffic light project in the city, saying, the results are yet to be seen.

“We would like to clarify that neither this board nor the CCTO has authorized anybody to speak for and on behalf of the office endorsing the claimed benefits of this traffic light project,” part of the lengthy statement from the CCTMCC-TMC Board and CCTO reads.

Although it was not mentioned in the statement, the bid results of the city’s official website show the said project was awarded to Cylix Technologies Inc./Triune Electronic Systems Inc. joint venture.

“The past few days, the contractor/supplier of the new phase digitalized traffic light system project has been promoting their product as one using the most advanced traffic system in the world,” part of the statement reads.

Phase 1 of the project which covers 18 intersections along Gen. Maxilom Avenue, Serging Osmeña Boulevard, and Colon Street, among others, was completed last quarter of 2021.

Despite the completion of the P232 million phase 1 component of this two-phase project last quarter of 2021, CCTMC said, they have barely seen its positive effect on the city's traffic flow most especially during peak hours.

CCTMC also noted that since last year there were already malfunctioning traffic lights even at major intersections involving these newly installed traffic lights.

“While we respect the contractor/supplier's way of promoting their product in such a very grandiose and highly eyebrow-raising way, we, in the Cebu City Traffic Management Coordination Committee would want to approach this claim/publicity with much caution and circumspection.”

The actual impact of this half-a-billion peso project covering only 45 city intersections “still remains to be seen.”

CCTMC clarified that the project was contracted way back in September 2020 when the city’s traffic board was not yet in existence.

“We were just given a briefing by the contractor last August 2022 when we received numerous questions from the public on the status of such a half-a-billion peso traffic light project.”

The board, together with the city’s traffic office, hopes to see a real and effective traffic system in place in this traffic light project that has been claimed to be the most advanced traffic system in the world.

“We hope that the traffic system that this project is supposedly providing, if any, will actually result in a smoother flow of traffic in our city and that Cebu City will not simply end up with an inventory of a mere bunch of monitors and CCTV's being passed off as a ‘traffic system’.”