Solar-powered crossing beacons in road safety push

The Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) is set to implement new crossing beacons, including solar-powered options, as part of a comprehensive strategy to enhance road safety across the island, a senior official has told lawmakers. The initiative comes in response to growing public concerns about pedestrian safety, particularly around school zones.

Acting Deputy Chief Technical Officer for Design Services, Lorian Graham, revealed that the ministry is seeking quotations for “new types of crossing beacons” and plans to reinstate the Belisha Beacon Programme to enhance the visibility of school crossings.

“We are looking at having those also solar powered,” she told the House of Assembly hearing on the annual Appropriations Bill.

This initiative is part of a wider strategy to address road safety, especially following recent concerns raised by the public after a serious accident involving a young schoolboy.

But Minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw sought to give assurances that the accident “is not certainly the catalyst for us acting urgently, but I do feel that the unit in the ministry has always been trying to make sure that when roads are done, there’s a system, the road is done, and all of the things attendant to that road will follow thereafter. There are different entities that will then step in from MTW to be able to make sure that the roads are properly marked”.

Bradshaw and Graham were responding to questions posed by Member of Parliament for St Michael West, Christopher Gibbs, in whose constituency the horrific accident involving the minor occurred.

He stressed that road safety measures now go beyond just paving roads. “What is more apparent to Barbadians nowadays after that incident is that it’s not just about paving a road anymore. People are more concerned about safety. They’re concerned about speed bumps, they’re concerned about mirrors, they’re concerned about crosswalks. . . . So we have to be mindful that paving the road is nice and it’s good, and we all want it done. However, we really need to look at all of the other things that we need to do along with paving the road.”

In response, Graham outlined the ministry’s ongoing efforts to refresh road markings, particularly for school crossings.

She noted: “The Ministry of Transport and Works makes a consistent effort at the start of each school year and midway through each school year to refresh all school crossings, primary and secondary school crossings across the island.”

Graham also said road markings were regularly refreshed in new residential developments.

“As you may be aware, over time, some of our road markings have not held up to the wear and tear and the weather, and with this financial year, we are going to trial some different types of road marking materials. Previously, we have used water-based and oil-based road marking paints, and we’ve also used hot-applied thermoplastic,” she explained. “We will be trained to use cold-applied thermoplastic to see if it gives the longevity that hot-applied thermoplastic previously gave.”

The ministry is also working to improve signage in several areas, she added.

Graham said: “We are aware that in urban areas, dense urban areas, there are many points of desire to cross, where persons of all ages would not necessarily go to the designated crossing points to go about their daily business.

“The City of Bridgetown and its environs do have a lower speed limit than the rest of the island, which is currently 60. The City of Bridgetown is 45/40. Over time, we have not replaced those sign discs to make the public aware that in these urban areas, they should be using a reduced speed so we will be reinstating those side markings in the area – that is specifically, from the Eagle Hall area right across to Jemmott’s Lane area to allow the travelling public to be aware of what an appropriate speed is in these densely populated areas.”