SCATeS of the Abstract Art

At quick glance, one may dismiss the title of today’s article as a typographical error or ‘typo.’  To dispel that notion, let me explain what this is all about.  First, SCATeS was a play of the word ‘state’ and the existing traffic system used by the main city, Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System or SCATS.  Second, the Kapitolyo city recently announced that they are upgrading their current traffic system to “state-of-the-art” high-tech, persons with disability (PWD) friendly systems.

First, let’s discuss the main city’s traffic system.  Way back when I was too young to get a driver’s license, I had once marvelled at the installation of these computer-controlled, placebo-injected traffic systems.  Together with everyone else, I also endured the little traffic that piled up during the installation of the underground sensors.  But after that minor inconvenience, we all enjoyed a coordinated traffic system that regulated vehicular flow during peak and off-peak hours.  And as pedestrians, we also enjoyed relative safety as we used the placebo-injected buttons that triggered the crosswalk signs.  We had presumed that when we pressed the arrow button on the stoplight, all traffic would stop so we could waltz our way across the street.  Little did we know that a pre-programmed system determined this and our button pushing had nothing to do with it.

Fast forward to twenty years later, more than half of these systems no longer work.  No repair or rehabilitation of the SCATS was ever mentioned until the Kapitolyo city proudly announced that they were installing state-of-the-art traffic systems for their city.  I guess the main city’s pride got shot so they scrambled to boast that they can fix the current system at no cost at all.

Initially, I was sceptical.  How can a multi-million peso traffic system be repaired with no cost to the city at all?  The main city’s traffic head mentioned that they would contact the original supplier of the traffic system and ask if they could find cost-effective ways to repair or upgrade the system.  Changing the system, according to the traffic czar would be more expensive.  Maybe this was his little stab at the Kapitolyo city’s effort to improve their own traffic system.

You see, the Kapitolyo city made mention that their state-of-the-art traffic system will be PWD friendly (equipped with theft-attractive audio systems) with countdown timers (to tell street racers when to launch their vehicles or tell light-beaters how much time they have left to run a red light) and closed-circuit cameras (which nobody will, honestly, really monitor).  According to the published report, the entire “state-of-the-art” system cost the city thirty-nine million bucks.  That’s like buying a Picasso painting.  To art enthusiasts, it’s a priceless treasure.  To everyone else, it’s an overpriced wall décor and a waste of money.  And knowing how effective the traffic enforcers of that city are, I bet people would see this state-of-the-abstract-art traffic system as a total waste.

Going back to how the main city intends to repair their traffic system without additional cost, a separate news article helped me figure out and believe how they can do it without spending a single centavo per se.  In that article, the operations head of the city’s traffic group made mention of their need to have four speed guns to discourage speeding in the south coastal.  According to the operations head, based on last year’s quotation, a speed gun costs around four hundred thousand each. 

Being the vigilant “Googler” that I am, I checked the internet and found out that a high-tech Bushnell speed gun costs around a hundred dollars each, which roughly translates to a little over four thousand pesos.  I hope that the figure I read in that article was a typo, else we all know what happens next.  One peso cars anyone? @backseatdrivr