There have been opinions from time to time that Dumaguete will not be progressive without traffic lights.
When I was still living in Switzerland, and driving to work in the town of Zug, I would come across a small crossing where a traffic light made cars wait even if there was no traffic from the other points. One day we had to detour because of “road works”. When we could pass this junction again, lo, the traffic lights were gone.
Instead, there was a neat little circle where one turned around to exit where you needed. There was only one instruction: the cars inside the circle had the right of way.There were also pedestrian lanes with it. Traffic went very smoothly after this.
Soon after, I noticed traffic lights being dismantled, and circles were put up instead where it was feasible, in the whole of Switzerland, and particularly in France which has now the greatest number of circles in Europe. Searching the net, it seems that the USA is slowly catching up with the concept of roundabouts.
The circle can be as cheaply made as possible, using rubber tires for example, to mark the borders, or flowering plants can be made the centerpiece. It can be as simple or as ornate as one pleases. I have seen a Christmas tree as the centerpiece of a Circle.
From the internet, we find out that roundabouts (rotundas) are a safer alternative to traffic signals and stop signs.
The tight circle of a roundabout forces drivers to slow down, and the most severe types of intersection crashes and head on collisions are unlikely.
Maintenance on the lights can be disruptive, and their continued operation relies on continued power, and no computer failure. Keeping the lights working is associated with costs.
Consider the city of Bayawan. The last time I was there some three months ago, they were working on an awkward intersection. From the main highway going to their new City Hall was some kind of triangular design that made the vehicle come face to face with oncoming traffic if one had to turn left — which was almost constantly.
I had thought to myself years ago that a roundabout would be best here. I was just happy to see that a rotunda was exactly the new design there.
A similar awkward intersection can be encountered in Dumaguete. Between the port area and Silliman University is a cumbersome triangle design supposedly for greenery and fence. Coming from the southern part of the boulevard, one would come face to face with oncoming traffic to be able to turn left to Katada St. to go to Hibbard Ave.
Again, a roundabout would do best in this intersection.
Other awkward junctions are those streets coming into an intersection with the new Diversion Road now cutting through what used to be the main roads.
I notice the bottleneck of traffic around the Valencia Road, and the Batinguel Road that now crosses the wide four-lane Diversion Road, and especially during busy times.
Can a traffic engineer study this, and propose solutions for all the roads crossing the Diversion Road? A rotunda perhaps? Surely, if we are to avoid accidents, especially that the purpose of the Diversion Road was to “ease the traffic”.
I understand there are and “complicated intersections” where only traffic lights will truly work. Sometimes, roundabouts and traffic lights can work well together.
We must not entertain thoughts that for Dumaguete to be considered a modern city it must have traffic light signals. When studies and actual situations in the country and abroad have in fact shown how a simple roundabout might just be the right solution that we need.
Let us build rotundas in Dumaguete!
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