On November 25th, 2016 the business newspaper Vida Económica published a column with the title above. Last week four people died on the EN125, many more were seriously injured, writes Jack Soifer.For decades, there have been no roundabouts in Northern Europe like those on the EN125. In these countries they use an intelligent software.
Traffic lights have the support of a mini-radar that reads the speed of each vehicle as it approaches. In nano-seconds the system calculates which of the traffic directions should have a green light and for how long, until all vehicles have passed. It is not an equal time for each direction, this varies according to the flow of traffic, especially of buses and lorries. It is the SENSE-system.
There are no longer pavements each side of the road or parking areas in suburban areas, as there are on the EN125. There is a bike path on one side and a pedestrian walkway on the other.
There are three lanes for traffic, the middle one being variable, to allow overtaking instead of long queues like those on the EN125. On the side of the road there are signs indicating the next pullover area and the extra lane down the middle.
The updated EN125 is in fact, a downgrade, an outdated project.
"It will bring even more deaths, because as there are hardly any sections where you can safely overtake, many will risk manoeuvres without good visibility."
The minister has ignored the experience in other countries and the warning in Vida Económica.
As journey times along the EN125 are longer, many business users have to pay the high tolls and use the A22 to stay in business. This is the certainly the case of services and transfer companies.
Vida Económica wrote: “Minister, since the works have stopped, update the project as there are sections that can still use 21st century technology."
Who wins, who loses? We do - almost all citizens have lost. The payment system for the A22 tolls is obsolete and socially unfair. If you do not pay in six days, they add a fine. The concession holder, a foreign cartel, saw traffic volume halve. The worsening of the EN125 forced us to use the A22 – on purpose? The contractors know that the investment in the EN125 will have to be redone within a few years. They also win at our expense.
© Jack Soifer 2016
