Dhaka city corporations are ready to hand over the capital's traffic signal system to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) by June 2019 after completing a project for signal automation that started in 2009, an official said.
The city corporations will handover the semi-automated signal system after formation of Traffic Signal Unit (TSU), a technical unit of DMP, the official also said.
The proposal to form the unit is now pending with Ministry of Home Affairs, which is waiting to get final approval from Ministry of Public Administration. A total of 49 positions have been proposed for TSU to control the city's traffic signal system.
The remote control-based semi-automated traffic signal system will function in two ways - remote control system during peak hours and automated system during off-peak hours.
Introducing the mixed system was advised by Professor Shamsul Huq of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in mid-2014 after a traffic signal automation project of World Bank (WB) failed to bring discipline in the city's chaotic traffic system.
The city corporations have been doing these activities under Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) Project, funded by World Bank. The duration of the project has been extended three times since its inception in 2009.
The project has three packages - traffic signal development at a cost of Tk 160 million, new traffic signal installation at a cost of Tk 95 million, and launching remote control system at a cost of Tk 12 million.
The city corporations have bought 134 remotes under the project, and also trained 20 traffic police members to operate the remote control system. Adequate police members will be trained gradually to use the system, project insiders said.
Talking to the FE, Assistant Engineer of CASE Project Touhidul Islam said the city corporations have been controlling traffic with remote control at Banglamotor and Sheraton intersections on trial basis since last week of September.
The result is positive and it will continue for some more months, he noted.
Regarding handing over the signal system and row with DMP over the issue, he said DMP Traffic Division does not have any traffic signal engineering unit.
"We will hand over the project in June 2019 after making the signal system functional. Now as many as 15 engineers of the two city corporations are controlling the signal system," he added.
According to Mr Islam, objectives of the project are to make people conscious about obeying red and green signals, ensure life safety of traffic policemen, and create awareness among drivers.
Prof Shamsul Huq said the main problem created in absence of traffic signal is indiscipline at the crossings by pedestrians.
If the semi-automated system is made functional, the pedestrians will cross the roads through zebra crossings, which is an inclusive system worldwide. Foot-overbridge is not an internationally acknowledged system, he added.
"Only a few policemen will be required for some months to make people familiar with the system and change their behaviour. After that, no police or scout will be required, as there will be CCTVs for monitoring under the project."
Prof Huq said the policemen concerned were doing well to control traffic using the automated signal system. But their image was getting tarnished, as the system was not suitable for Dhaka due to overcrowd and heavy traffic flow.
Three things will happen, if the semi-automated system is introduced - the image of policemen will improve, people will be more law-abiding, and pedestrians will be able to cross roads easily when the transports are brought under discipline, especially bus.
"This kind of remote control-based traffic signal system is used in Delhi, Chennai and China. If the project is duly implemented soon, the measures taken to bring discipline to Dhaka traffic will not fail anymore."
Calling the system 'a compromise solution', he also observed that a megacity like Dhaka having small-sized vehicles does not need lane system except for rickshaws.
DMP Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Mofiz Uddin Ahmed said they are hopeful about getting approval for the technical unit soon, as it is a priority project of the government.
He said about 3,000 traffic police members now work at field level, while another 1,000 work at office. DMP can only deploy traffic police at the major points and on the main roads.
The introduction of signal system will not reduce the number of traffic police at field level, as they will supervise the people to follow signals and use zebra crossings as well as prosecute the rule violators.
Regarding CCTV observation, he said Traffic Division has already installed 100 cameras. Another 50 will be installed soon. Under a project, 150 CCTVs have been installed in Gulshan.
At present, there are 77 signal points. The government installed 70 signals in 2001-2002, which worked till 2005. Under CASE Project, 29 signals were installed during 2009-16. But 26 of the total signals are now dysfunctional due to various reasons.
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