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Constitutional Court Orders
Traffic Lights With Sound
By order of the Sala
Constitucional (Constitutional
Court) or Sala IV as it is often
referred, the Ministerio de
Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
must put aside some ¢70 million
colones (us$141.000) to updgrade
traffic lights with sound to
help the blind.
The Sala IV decision 2005-17011
came down on Tuesday and
requires that the MOPT updgrade
traffic lights, at a cost of
¢198.000 colones ($400 each).
According to Ingeniería de
Tránsito del Ministerio (MOPT
engineers) there are about 350
traffic lights to be changed,
mostly in San José and
surrounding areas.
The Sala IV has given the MOPT
six months to made the changes,
which according to Randall
Quirós, MOPT minister, is not in
the 2006 budget, saying that
they cannot do the impossible
and the order cannot be complied
with if the Ministerio de
Hacienda (Revenue Ministry)
doesn't give his ministry money.
"I will try to do my best to
heed to the court order, but
there are limits. We will look
for the money with the Instituto
Nacional de Seguros (INS), el
Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi)
and the Unión Europea", said
Minister Quirós.
Luis Fernando Solano, president
of the Sala Constitucional, said
that there are too many
violations of the Ley de
Igualdad de Oportunidades para
las Personas con Discapacidad -
the law that gives the
handicapped equal rights.
The change would require all
traffic lights to emit a sound
when the light is green,
allowing the blind to cross,
similar to the traffic light
installed in front of the Teatro
Nacional on Avenida Segunda.
The Constitutional Court is also
looking at violations against
the handicapped at automated
teller machines, wheelchair
access ramps at public buildings
and currency that would help the
blind distinguish the different
bank notes.
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