A transport consultant, Mr. Debo Shopade, has urged state governments to adopt new technology to address the problem of traffic congestion in their domains.
He said gridlock being experienced on major roads in the city was avoidable only if relevant authorities could emulate the modern practice in civilised countries.
Shopade, who is the head of a recently inaugurated Intelligence Transport System, Nigeria chapter, spoke in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos on Monday.
He said, “There is the need to use technology to ease traffic congestion; the world has moved on to adaptive traffic light system; with sensors being used to count traffic. We still rely on old method and that is why nothing has really changed.”
He also spoke on the relevance of a viable rail sector and advised transport planners to develop a freight strategy to decongest the cities.
Shopade said the nation’s varsities and researchers should be challenged to design suitable materials for road construction and repairs.
“We should be using techniques that will work for us. Only materials that are suitable for our environment will last on our roads; and that is the job for the Nigerian engineers and university researchers’” he said.
He said, with the inauguration of ITS Nigeria, supported by the UK group, the nation would benefit a lot from the global transport body.
According to him, professionals in the transport sector, who are members of the association, will be made available to assist the country in getting lasting solutions to its transport problems.