Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has denied that pedestrian traffic signals are not functioning in the city, saying the push buttons are programmed to change only when it is safe.
Speaking to XPRESS, Maitha Bin Adai, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, said: “The push button pedestrian pelicans are mostly demand-dependent and they shouldn’t change directly when pushed. They are programmed to change in a safe way for both vehicles and pedestrians.
“At some signal intersections, the pedestrian phase is set to always appear at certain times in the cycle. This is to ensure the intersection operates as efficiently as possible and also caters to pedestrian demand.”
TRAFFIC LIGHT JUNCTIONS
She said there are 433 traffic light intersections, including pedestrian pelicans in the city, and they change colour according to real-time traffic flow.
“The timings are calculated for each individual site using industry standard software and based on the measured traffic flows for different times of the day. At some sites, the signals are controlled by the RTA’s central computer system SCOOT which uses a number of detectors at each approach to the signals to measure traffic flow and calculate the best green times in real time throughout the day.”
Maitha said the time taken for signals to change from green in one direction to green in another is based on the size of the intersection and the distance to the potential collision point for each traffic movement.
She said accidents at the red light have declined. “The RTA has been continuously trying to invent solutions to reduce red traffic light violations, like the introduction of the flashing green light stage which helps to reduce the dilemma zone.”
