Adrian Frater, News Editor

The Traffic Management System, which is slated for the Montego Bay business district, is aimed at changing the traffic flow by adding traffic signals with cameras at intersections, with a 'nerve centre' housed in the offices of the St James Parish Council. - file

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry is unhappy about the protracted delay in the implementation of the proposed J$40 million Traffic Management System for the town, aimed at streamlining congestion now plaguing the western city.

"We are not pleased with the length of time it takes for the implementation of this project, even where financing is already in place," said chamber president Pauline Reid, in an interview with The Gleaner. "The full design has already been completed; however, we are getting lame excuses as to why this project, and others, cannot get off the ground."

Nerve centreAccording to the chamber president, the Traffic Management System, which is slated for the Montego Bay business district, is aimed at changing the traffic flow by adding traffic signals with cameras at intersections, with a 'nerve centre' housed in the offices of the St James Parish Council, from where the monitoring and timing of the lights can be controlled to allow for a better traffic flow.

"We are losing too many productive hours tied up in traffic," said Ms Reid, noting that the project has been on the drawing board for over a year. "Based on the information available to us, the duration for implementing this project would only be a mere two weeks."

While acknowledging that an agreement was in place for the National Works Agency (NWA) to implement the traffic management system in Montego Bay, Stephen Shaw, head of communications and customer service at the NWA, said the delay was due to the amount of preparatory work that was required before work could commence.

"We have to do drawings, prepare a bill of quantity and then put the project to tender before the actual work can start," said Shaw. "Thankfully, that process is well advanced so we should be going to tender by the end of the month."

In explaining the scope of the work to be done, Shaw said it would involve modification work to some 17 intersections, as well as realignment work in other areas.

Funding

He added that while there was an agreement between the Tourism Enhancement Fund and the NWA, the funding for the project has not yet been released.

"We are absolutely disenchanted with this situation, the implementation time for this project is just too long," said Reid. "The procrastination in the implemen-tation of these projects is not only hampering production, but is also costing individuals and business operators dearly, in terms of their time and fuel."

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com