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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Here in the Philippines, most commonly urban areas, are the places where roads

are usually wide having 3-5 lanes. The increasing number of vehicles who uses the

road at the same time is causing congestions on road networks especially at road

sections where nominal widths change such as intersections. It’s just normal for that

kind of place because of the many vehicles passing around and usually being called as

the “busy place of all the places”. Recently in the news, it was reported that vehicles in

Manila are being over populated and every solutions has been made just to lessen the

traffic. And almost all are just temporary solutions, while permanent solutions requires

more time to be finished just like the ongoing skyway level 3, which until now is

adding to the problem because of road construction. But what if in a certain area where

congestions are formed and there is an on-going road construction which makes the

traffic worse? Well it’s okay if the construction will only last for moment, but then the

common problem is delay.

Somehow in rural areas, traffic is not a big deal because of the minimal amount of

vehicles that passes by. Even though there are still some problems that we may encounter,

there is no need to think of a better idea in which the problem will be solved, because the

problem is just as small as it is. The driver can manage the problem by handling the

situation, and also by the help of traffic enforcers. But today, as we take a look at the
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roads in rural areas, we can say that they are improving those to concrete roads. In that

area where construction of roads will takes time, we can install the device when it meet

the factors that it is necessary to have one in that kind of place, and to further solve those

timely construction on road improvements. That is why even if it’s in urban or in rural

areas, everyone deserves a comfort by using the product that is designed to minimize the

queuing of vehicles when roads active lane is just one, while the others are being

constructed.

According to Eliot Spitzer, “DELAY IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS”. This is

the number one problem why there’s a need to conduct this kind of study, and it is also

the biggest problems construction firm faces. Delays can lead to many negative effects

such as lawsuits between owners and contractors, increased costs, loss of productivity

and revenue, and contract termination. The construction companies in many countries

around the world experience significant delays. So in short, the longer the construction

work, the more stress and patience it will give to the drivers and passengers. That’s why

we need a simple remedy by using this device to avoid traffic congestion.

The use of automatic sensor powered stoplight in one-way traffic system

during road construction aims to provide safety and awareness to the public to have a

better flow on areas that commonly found an issue to traffic and accidents while roads are

being constructed, and also to lessen the traffic enforcers on manually giving signs when

the lane is ready to go. The system is just simple, the authorized person will input how

long the roads are being constructed, then at the two end points there is a stoplight

connected with a timer, indicating how much time will be left for the roads to be cleared

in order for the vehicles in the other end to pass. The process is very easy, so adding some
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features on the device will make it even better, just like the case when the other lane has

no vehicles left but the timer is still counting, the device has a sensor in it so when the

device detects that there is no vehicles left in that lane, the timer will automatically reset

and allows the other lane to pass.

Statement of the Problem

Annoyance to the public occurs when projects are not completed in a timely

manner and when actual progress of the construction work is longer than necessary. The

effect of this to the community is inconvenience and disrupted business. So I, the

researcher, thinks of temporary but a better solution specifically for having only single

lane for vehicles travelling through left to right and vice-versa because of road

construction. This paper addresses that we don’t need traffic enforcer to make signal for

the driver to whichever comes first, but rather, the stoplight device will do the work for it.

Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions:

1. How to assure the satisfaction of drivers while travelling to their destination?

1.1 Hotlines;

1.2 Comments and;

1.3 Suggestions?

2. How to provide safety for the driver and passenger while passing by a construction

work?
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3. How to evaluate the effectiveness of the innovative road safety system through the use

of the device to the community?

4. How to lessen the use of traffic enforcer when cars and motorcycles starts to queue and

there is no ruling on which lane should go first?

5. How to improve more of the device for future work?

5.1 Recommendation;

5.2 Publish and;

5.3 Implementation;

Significance of the Study

On peak hours, cars and motorcycles start to queue and there is no ruling on

which end should go first unless traffic enforcer is available in that area. But those traffic

enforcer is not available all the time, that’s why volunteers are welcome to do the job. It

will be a costly and not reliable approach to station traffic controller personnel at such a

place and it provides hassle on drivers. So this paper develops a portable stand-alone

traffic light, since the system is using a wireless communication and portable, its usage

can be extended to any remote road in urban and rural areas to assist the traffic flow. The

system is also equipped with solar and a battery bank to ensure the operation is

continuous even during the night. The implementation of this system is perceived to put

the traffic under control with minimal assistance from human operator.
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1. The End User

The people benefit from the system, specifically drivers and passengers as well as

commuters. Flow of single lane in the road will be smooth and less waiting time for the

drivers and passengers to pass by an ongoing road project within the area.

1. To the Community

Community is the main target of our thesis proposal because that’s what people need,

the satisfaction in times of fixing roads, that it will not be a hindrance when they are

travelling from one place to another place.

2. The Future Researcher

The device will serve as an inspiration to the students and researchers who wants to

upgrade more of our systems since it has space for improvements to implement it in the

community.

Scope and Delimitations

This study aims to define a significant measurement in establishing traffic turns

and traffic management within the local roads in both urban and rural areas. This focuses

on the study of modes of traffic relevant to the existing local roads and physical

transportation of facilities of the city that contributes traffic build-ups. This study

develops a design traffic management by establishing a one-way traffic systems

applicable only to the roads where construction is being made and done.
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Moreover, this study defines the scope of the following

• Conduct traffic count in order to determine the average and annual daily traffic.

• Define the existing traffic directions that redirects the traffic flow toward one way roads

which develops traffic congestions.

• Define the local streets that can be used as alternative access on roads to lessen the

traffic build-up.

• Define the existing roadway obstructions such as illegal parking on road shoulders

which narrows the road sections.

Thus from the above scope of studies we will be able to develop a significant

relationship between existing traffic condition in relation to the existing traffic

components such that we will be able to formulate conclusion whether it is necessarily

essential to set up or redirect traffic flow.

But this paper is limited only on roads where there is an ongoing project, or

construction on roads which only has single lane active, because that is the main target of

the researcher. To reduce the traffic congestion in that certain area and minimizes the

traffic enforcer by giving signals to the drivers manually.