"Intelligent" Traffic Lights Coming to San José
Many of the traffic lights in San José go back to technology used 50 years ago. To fight traffic jams, the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT), announced that will be install a new network of "intelligent" traffic lights, which adapt to traffic conditions based on a network of sensors and video cameras.

The new traffic lights would change the wait times for red lights or extend the green signal depending on the flow of traffic at an intersection, using mathematical calculations taking into consideration the density of vehicles passing the intersection and their speed.

Mexicana Semex S.A. was awarded the contract by the MOPT to make changes to 325 intersections in San José, from the west Pavas to the east San Pedro and Guadalupe.

The cost of the installation will be us$4.7 million dollars and will be paid by the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi). The project is expected to take two and one hald years to complete from the start date, which is expected by the middle of May of this year.

The first leg of the project is to build a control centre and install the traffic lights, which is expected to take up to one and one half years. The balance of the time will be used to train the officials of the Dirección de Ingeniería de Tránsito on the management of the system. The traffic lights can make their own decision or be overridden by the control centre.

Eduardo Montero, vice-minister of Transportes, said that one benefit is that in the event of an emergency, control centre operators can change traffic lights to easily move the emergency vehicles along a route. Red Cross (ambulances), fire trucks and police vehicles can have a clear path ahead of them to quickly respond to an emergency or take an injured person to hospital, Montero said.

At the same time, Cosevi, said it will use ¢500 million colones (us$995.000) to install similar traffic lights in Heredia, Alajuela and Cartago and by the 2009 to connect to the San José system.