New light to tackle traffic trouble
(CNS): A new traffic signal metering system has been installed on South Sound Road, just before the Hurley’s Roundabout, as an interim solution to the traffic flow problem at that junction. The traffic signal meter, which will be activated only during the evening rush hour, is expected to reduce congestion along Crewe Road and the Linford Pierson Highway for drivers heading east. It is expected to go live on Monday, 19 August, at the junction where over 4,800 vehicles now cross during peak hours.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) noted in a release that at present, the single lane of traffic coming from South Sound has priority over motorists using the main two eastbound lanes on Crewe Road because those cars must give way to the right. This has been creating traffic queues that extend back onto the Linford Pierson Highway.
Since its construction in 2003, the roundabout has seen a dramatic increase in traffic. NRA counters recorded upwards of 40,000 vehicle trips per weekday along the main highway in 2018. During that same year, an average of 4,821 vehicles were recorded travelling eastbound through the roundabout between 4:30 to 6:30 during the evening rush hour.
Given the significant frustration for commuters, the NRA has installed the metering system, which will control the flow of traffic on this artery. This will enable increased movement of traffic from the dual carriageway on Crewe Road onto the roundabout, officials have said.
However, this traffic management measure is only an interim solution. The NRA said more detailed plans for traffic relief in the area are due to be rolled out in the future. The government has plans to widen Crewe Road into six lanes, but before that happens the NRA is hoping the meter will help to address the worst of the current congestion challenge.
“The traffic meter is going to allow gaps in the eastbound evening peak traffic flow on South Sound Road that will in turn cause eastbound traffic on the main artery to flow through Grand Harbour roundabout much faster,” said NRA Acting MD Ed Howard.
South Sound is also seeing tailbacks but the NRA said that is caused by drivers cutting through Old Crewe Road during the evening peak. However, that shortcut will be less attractive to drivers hoping to jump the traffic queues because the lights will slow down access for drivers coming from South Sound, giving the advantage to the heavier traffic entering the roundabout from Crewe Road.
The new metering signal has been set back from the roundabout and will include advance warning signs, a cantilevered signal head over the travel lane, and painted stop bar designation in which motorists are required to stop.
The signal will only activate Monday through Friday during the
evening peak hours, cycling drivers through at intervals of 10 to 12
seconds. An illuminated red ball will signify that drivers are required to come to a complete stop. The amber ball signifies that motorists can proceed with caution.
Officials said these types of light meter signals are quite common in the UK, Australia and US, where they are used in various situations, including at roundabouts, and for regulating traffic joining the motorways at congested periods.
The new signal pole on South Sound Road will also soon feature the installation of the first set of electronic vehicle registration (EVR) detection devices designed to read the new registration stickers and plates.
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Category: Local News
Lets hope Cayman drivers will actually abide by the new signals so it can improve the situation, not ignore them, do their own thing, cause traffic and accidents like the rest of Cayman.
By the way, who is meant to be maintaining that overgrown monstrosity of a roundabout?
They will pay as much attention to that red light as they did to the old one at the end of the runway (for when the planes were landing/taking off)
excellent idea.. present organization not wking
Just build the darn overpasses! And start working on Public transport Bus service.
Betting that the entire time you have a green light, you will not even be able to get on the roundabout since it will already be crammed with people who squeezed on through their amber light from the previous entry….
Enough people run red lights here as a yellow light is interpreted as accelerate. How will this be any different?
Why do we fight every form of change on these islands?
Let’s get rid of speed limit signs then since they achieve nothing also
the comments have been made correctly, the problem is most drivers do not use their indicators when entering and exiting the round about. The NRA should put CORRECT LANE signage at all round about entrance roads. If both of these matters are addressed, at least the outside lanes would flow whilst traffic comes from the right with indicators flashing.
I live in Sunrise Condos, I am always surprised by the number of people who take Old Crewe Road as a short cut.
I even chased a public bus out of our parking lot a few weeks ago, he was very disappointed that the gate was closed (as usual, every day from 5:00-7:00pm).
Make Old Crew road no right left turn onto South Sound road, and the new light will be great! but it should be for a minute or more at a time.
all that effort will be for nothing as nothing will change lol still going to be horrendous traffic!
When will Government realize that the infrastructure is not adequate for the population growth in the recent years. Still no sign of a proper public transportation system and having to get anything done at the licensing place means you need to take a day vacation from work.
It’s ridiculous……….if you want 100K population you need to be a step ahead developing the infrastructure and not 20 steps behind.
AMEN!
Maybe if people used their indicators and used them correctly, it would also help the flow of traffic.
Only the people that realize this, do this already. For others to have an epiphany moment is too much to ask. These idiots are too numb in the brain to think that just maybe if they indicate traffic may flow quicker. This is despite them surely having to wait longer when they’re waiting to pull out themselves…I mean really, do these things not even fleetingly go through their minds???
There is the same issue at Butterfield roundabout, with some many cars exiting from the industrial area wanting to go down a blocked Godfrey Nixon that they block up the roundabout.
the result is all those cars heading north on north sound road to get to the Esterley Tibbets can’t move.
And don’t get me started on those that race through the ALT car park to bypass the traffic.
Its funny as no-one wants to let cars come out of Sound way, but happily let those shortcutters out of ALT
Without enforcement it’s going to be more like 5 seconds between amber and red, if people are willing to go the wrong way down one way streets then they aren’t going to bother with a traffic light where there are no consequences of jumping it. The one way street thing is a reference to the new roundabout at the end of the runway, that little cut-through is just too tempting to some drivers…
Why is the Minister not addressing the traffic backup in the mornings at the LPH horse riding place?
Schools will soon be back in session and the traffic will be horrendous. Does Minister Hew plan to put a stop light at the mini roundabout on Bobby Thompson Way as well to keep the incoming traffic moving more smoothly?
Why are they taking so long to correct this mistake by the horse riding place from 2005, over 14 years now Premier.
that second paragraph is interesting. I am sure this is news to a lot of readers!
It shouldn’t be. You should always give way to the traffic on the right on a round about where you drive on the left.
Wow! by you doing that, you just made it harder to come out of Hurleys ! :)) lol
Ah yes, people exiting from Hurley’s. Among the least indicatey of any type. They really piss me off.
This is a stupid idea – having a stop light at a roundabout. Thats why they built the roundabouts in the first place so they didnt have to deal with the issues that lights bring and the traffic could flow naturally.
This light installation is nothing more than pandering to the new South Sound residents who do not want to see or hear the long lines of vehicles and want to walk their new boardwalk without all the traffic in South Sound.
This light is designed to discourage people driving on South Sound road altogether. The traffic lines on the LPH will now be 3x as long just to satisfy the rich folks (Joeys friends).
Wait a minute, didnt the Minister just say a few days ago that the roads were for everyone?
If so, why are people being punished by using South Sound Road with the scenic view to get home in the evenings?
How someone can be this dense/oblivious is simply amazing. Dear faddah
I love that the light will be used during peak hours heading east – i.e. between 5-7pm – allowing traffic from LPH to ease straight on through. TBH, a lot of the traffic in front of Lion’s Centre is because we have to stop for all of the cars cutting through Old Crewe Rd, it is disgusting.
I agree, it will deter motorists from cutting through Old Crewe Rd.
I would also like to see Crewe Rd used as a local access only route during peak times. That too would make traffic flow smoothly from Crewe Rd – Shamrock Rd.
NRA, are you listening?
Police presence is definitely needed in the evenings along Old Crewe Rd.
Slow the population. We don’t need more people.
100,000 plus or bust. Bring on more people and make life hell for everyone.
So much for sustainability on Grand Cayman.
Get mad people. Stop putting up with all the B.S.
We cannot continue putting thousands of new cars on the road every year. We simply do not have the room on the roads. There are limits to how many lanes we can build.
Look at Bermuda. They have a superb public transportation system. That is the way we will eventually have to go.
The biggest problem with roundabouts in Cayman is that no one uses their indicators, therefore causing other road users to slow down/stop unnecessary because they are not freaking mind readers, which seriously impedes the flow of traffic. Traffic lights will most definitely help with the flow.
This is not just the roundabouts, this is one of the biggest problems in general, so many times I haven’t been able to pull out because the oncoming car who is turning off hasn’t indicated.
Almost hit someone this morning they were coming around Camana Bay roundabout, I was heading south saw the left signal as they approached the underbridge road, went to pull out and they carry on around the roundabout.
thankfully half anticipated it as it happens a lot and and he had a baby in his lap.
I see it so often people indicating left and then going right around the roundabout in the outside lane. It completely lacks common sense and they believe that this is the right way to do it.
10-12 seconds? Another stupid idea, what in the world will that achieve?
If your going to have lights then have them on red for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the traffic to flow from crew road then 1 minute to flow from south sound etc, this way each will get a time frame to flow, 10-12 seconds is a typical decision I’d expect to see on here though lol
I was thinking the same, at 5pm 10-12 seconds will put a car length between them and then they will just be back in the back-up at the roundabout lol. Did any of them go and look at the traffic before they decided this?
they have the same set up in the US, during peak hours to enter the 5 lane highways (for example). It basically sets up the cars so there’s less chance of an accident or back up. Everyone needs to just calm down and trust in the idea.
In the US there is no amber light, not the same at all. An amber light in the UK means the same as red. The traffic light sequence in the UK is Red, Red with amber then green. The sequence reversed is green, amber, red. The Cayman way is to introduce a new system and then educate people. You can bet anyone taking a test right now, neither has guidance, or be required to know this.
No it isn’t the same as metering lights in the US. They are essentially controlling merging traffic with a green and red light. Roundabouts cater to traffic in multi directional traffic.
NRA and police will watch how the traffic flow and they can change the timing easily to get it right.
lol
Great – someone must have taken note of this suggestion I sent the NRA some weeks back. I never got a reply but they were probably too busy implementing my good idea…. Just need to make Old Crewe Road tidal now and it could work well. Not sure why the traffic lights have to be such complicated affairs though. They lost me at “cantilevered signal head”.
Letting them proceed out of South Sound every 12 seconds is still going to tie up Crewe Road.
I cant see how this will help. You will still have the same number of vehicles trying to get out of Georgetown
When one lane takes uninterrupted priority over three, you get a bottle neck.
The 10 second delay isn’t a fix all, but hopefully it deters the idiots who feel entitled to try and find a way to skip ahead.
If you’ve been using old crewe road from LPH to go east instead of staying on the highway, you’re one of the biggest fools behind a wheel, congrats.
The bottleneck is because is of the a-holes that come off SS and sit in the outside lane to go east rather than using the correct lane which would allow vehicles coming from Crewe Rd to have better flow.
Most of those a-holes are using Old Crewe Road as a shortcut. I still say they need to put a cop on OCR just after the kings gym roundabout to stop those people from taking the shortcut. Only people who live there or are picking up kids from the school should be allowed to exit the kings gym roundabout to OCR.
Taking a short cut is not against the law
Cutting in line technically isn’t illegal either but an easy way to start a scene.
Nope it ain’t against the law, but it causes the issue that we have now.
Whichever way you slice it, it doesn’t reduce the traffic.
My point is what can a cop do?
I’ll be cutting you off tonight personally. No cars from Old Crewe Road should be able to come onto South Sound Road at that time. I live just before the roundabout, in-between the roundabout and OCR and it’s because of cars cutting in from OCR that it takes half an hour for me to get home. I should just be able to drive to my home. The traffic on SSR is many times what it should be considering the area is entirely residential. People who live on or off of SSR need to be able to access their homes. For every car that moves ahead on SSR two more cut in from OCR. It has to stop and I don’t care how they achieve that. Unfortunately traffic will probably be worse for months as ‘cutters-in’ learn slowly, one by one, that their current habit is no longer going to save them any time. I am willing to bet every driver who already does it will still do it just to see the difference this light makes. If they still think they will save time they will keep doing it. A tougher approach will be needed.
Then the left lane would be relatively free but the right would back up, causing the right lane to want to merge into the left when they see movement, holding up the left lane during a single merge.
Why can’t all you armchair traffic experts just stop with the complaining and give it a week to see if it makes a difference??
Damned if they try a solution and Damned it they don’t address the problem!
Yep. Lights won’t reduce the number of cars. Those statistics are insane.
A delay of 10-12 seconds for South Sound traffic … is that a joke? Should be more like 1-2 minutes if it’s going to make a difference.
South Sound traffic doesn’t even get to enter the roundabout quickly now, because it has to give way to the least busy spot: cars coming from Shamrock Road from east to west. There are a surprising number of cars making that journey during rush hour (I thought everyone worked west and went home east) but never any backup at that entrance to the roundabout. What this light is going to cause is a situation where a few South Sound cars manage to line up at the roundabout when the light is amber, waiting for cars coming from the east to pass, and those cars will block cars behind from using their opportunity with the amber light, the light will be going from amber to red and back again over and over while the flow of traffic from South Sound continues to be dictated by giving way to cars from the east. Basically South Sound traffic will get a lot worse. I predict this will not work. Giving South Sound cars 12 seconds to fill a stretch of road just a few cars long next to Scotiabank when they’ll have to wait to enter the roundabout itself anyway makes no sense. The light will be ignored because drivers will see that traffic can’t flow as the light directs.
the queues from south sound are terrible, the old crew road needs to be blocked in the middle for this to have any chance to work
Finally! This is a very reasonable solution. Well, it still depends on the drivers, and we sure have some of the worst.
put them at all junctions for goodness sake, then the traffic will flow fairly. Jesus these people are clueless!
Oh boy, people are going to wreck.
laughable effort as usual from NRA….
this will not do anything.
Put a red light camera on it
A Red light district in the area would slow traffic to a stop…