Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am informed that the junction of Victoria Avenue, Sir Guy Forget Avenue and Avenue Belle Rose is a signalised cross junction

86 found along the Metro Express corridor. The signalised cross junction falls under the traffic signal priority system which is managed by the Metro Express Ltd. The signalised cross junction caters traffic movement in eight directions – so, quite busy – as well as for train movement. The traffic signal sequences were configured thereat following a traffic survey carried out in 2018 based on the train’s movement, traffic volume and traffic flow. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with the present configuration, the train has priority signal at this junction, as is the case at all metro road junctions. Additionally, traffic along Sir Guy Forget, which is a one-way street towards Belle Rose Avenue, is provided more green time in mornings peak due to higher volume of traffic. Similarly, additional green time has been allocated for traffic coming from Victoria Avenue in the direction of Quatre Bornes in the morning and vice-versa in the afternoon based on the traffic survey of 2018. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, almost six years have passed since the traffic light thereat has been configured and traffic patterns may have evolved during these years. The Metro Express Ltd. has already been requested to carry out a fresh survey in collaboration with the Traffic Management and Road Safety Unit of my Ministry to that effect and with a view to adapting the configuration of the traffic light based on the findings. The exercise is expected to be completed in one month’s time. I have, therefore, to thank the hon. Member for coming up with this question as it has given the technicians of my Ministry the opportunity to question the relevance of the six-year-old configuration.

Yes, go on with your question.

Je vous remercie, M. le président, en effet nous avons reçu, le Dr. Boolell, vous-même et moi, de nombreuses plaintes des usagers de la route concernant les embouteillages au carrefour de l’avenue Victoria et de l’avenue Belle-Rose à Quatre-Bornes. Will the Minister inform the House if his Ministry will envisage to introduce smart traffic light system, communément appelé en français, des feux de signalisation intelligents, that adjust based on real time traffic conditions to enhance efficiency? Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I thank the hon. Member for this question. We are actually working in that direction. There is a consultancy exercise that my Ministry is conducting now and it is called Adaptative Traffic Control System, which has as qualities, I must say, it is

87 smart because it uses Artificial Intelligence to monitor traffic. It will, henceforth, going forward, prevent long waiting time when there are no cars, for example. Also, red-light cameras – if someone brûle un feu rouge, par exemple, it can spot it. So, we are working in that direction.

Okay, we will take one last question for this session, B/236. Hon. Second Member for Belle Rose and Quatre Bornes! BABY S. CASE – NICU, SSRN HOSPITAL – FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS