Leotek to expand study on city’s traffic

CEBU, Philippines — By May 2019, the Cebu City Transportation Office will evaluate the performance of Taiwan-based firm Leotek on the implementation of an intelligent traffic system in other three intersections in the city.

CCTO Operations Chief Francisco Ouano said the evaluation will be the basis of Mayor Tomas Osmeña whether or not to apply the smart traffic system in the entire city.

"After sa election (2019 mditerm polls), anha na nato mahibaw-an if i-implement ba siya sa entire city. Nakita man nato initially nga efficient sila, so mao to niingon si mayor nga we need to study more," he said.

Last week, the Office of the Mayor and the CCTO gave a go signal to Leotek to monitor the traffic situation in three busy intersections by installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and other traffic equipment.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña has allowed Leotek to expand its coverage in implementing the intelligent traffic system to further test its effectiveness.

The news areas to be analysed and assessed include the one in Gen. Chavez St. corner General Maxilom Avenue, General Maxilom Avenue corner A. Soriano Avenue and Osmeña Boulevard.

This was after Leotek representatives presented their two-month long report to the mayor and to the CCTO.  The mayor and the traffic officers were reportedly satisfied with the firm's performance.

In 2018, the city government tapped the services of Leotek to address the traffic problem in the City of Cebu.

The pioneer area of the implementation of the smart traffic system was in the intersection of General Maxilom Avenue and M.J Cuenco Avenue, which was at no cost to the city.

Ouano said with the traffic scheme of Leotek, the non-contact apprehension is effective. The CCTV cameras that were installed automatically detect traffic violators.

Leotek specializes in ‘Smart Street Lights and Smart City solutions’ involving advanced LED street lights, expandable with various sensors, cameras and others.

The said Taiwan-based firm installed CCTV cameras for the traffic authorities to monitor and analyze the situation of traffic flow.

For the three intersections, Leotek has started installing their traffic monitoring tools last week, Ouano said.

The expansion of services are offered for free just like the previous agreement.

"Ang ilaha lang, atong i-publicize unsa ka effective ang ilahang traffic system kay kita sa government dila ta magduha-duha mopalit kung ikaayo sa atoa," Ouano said.

He added the intelligent traffic system of Leotek would help address the monstrous traffic in the city.

Among the identified congested areas are P. Del Rosario St., M.J Cuenco Avenue, barangay Hipodromo, Osmeña Boulevard and others.

"Kung naay project ang mayor, support ta kay admitted nga grabe ka traffic, grabe ka daghan sa sakyanan. One thing ana, magtinabangay lang gyud ta," Ouano said. (FREEMAN)