Lagos begins test running of solar-powered traffic lights.

The Lagos State Government has commenced testing the use of solar energy to power traffic control lights in a bid to tackle perennial traffic congestion in the state. The state’s Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.

 He said that the biggest challenge in using traffic control lights across the state was unstable power supply.

“They have sensors or what they call controllers. The problem is that the moment there is no power supply and the sensor shuts down, the calibration goes bad. What that means is that we have to replace that sensor which we don’t manufacture here. So, everything is a function of what do we have. We are working on it but the challenge is: Can we get the ones that use solar power? And then, when we have persistent rain, will they work? That is what we are testing now.”

According to Hamzat, the moment the state government can power traffic control lights with solar energy, it will deploy more traffic control lights as a strategy to tackle gridlocks. “We want to make sure that we can have a system that will work all through without this power challenge. “the moment we are comfortable with our testing, then we will start deploying and repairing the ones that are spoilt.”

Source : Latest Nigerian News