THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 11, 1995 TAG: 9508110234
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Red, yellow and green translate the same way whether you're driving the streets of Hampton Roads or San Jose, Costa Rica.
That's why Luis Gonzalez, chief of traffic control under that Central American country's public works division, is delighted to cart home nearly 80 discarded Norfolk and Virginia Beach traffic signals this week.
Although Gonzalez speaks little English, his delight at accepting the gift was obvious when Virginia Beach Public Works Director Ralph Smith presented him Thursday with 30 outdated signals, along with the controls and spare parts.
``We're very happy to be able to give these to the people of Costa Rica, and we're especially glad to be able to help you with your traffic problems,'' Smith said.
For Gonzalez and his country, the signals represent something close to a godsend.
Costa Rica, roughly the size of West Virginia, has only 600 signals - technologically old ones at that - to serve its population of 3 million. By contrast, Virginia Beach alone has 300 far more sophisticated signals.
``The Costa Ricans determine where they are going to place their signals by how many fatal accidents they have at an intersection,'' said Virginia Beach resident Angel Morales, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who spearheaded the effort to donate the traffic lights.
Morales, a Puerto Rican native who is active in Hispanic Interest - a group that promotes positive relations between North Americans and Hispanics - and on the Virginia Beach Mayor's Sister Cities Commission, became aware of the need for traffic signals in Central America when he visited Guatemala several years ago.
Last year, at his suggestion, Virginia Beach donated signals to that country.
This year Norfolk joined the Beach in providing signals for Costa Rica.
Both donations were made at no cost to the Hampton Roads cities.
Morales said the Costa Rican government picked up the tab for transporting the equipment, and for visits by two Norfolk and Virginia Beach technicians who made an advance trip to the Central American country to survey needs and acceptability.
Steve Doane, a signal supervisor in charge of maintenance in Norfolk, was one of the two technicians who visited Costa Rica in June.
``You have to be there to see what people need,'' he said. ``It's a worthwhile thing. We take a lot of things for granted here.
``The traffic situation there is like it was here 30 years ago. You have one transportation department for the whole country. They have to travel two hours to change a light bulb.''
Doane said Norfolk is planning to use a federal grant to revamp its entire signal system, starting in the fall.
Norfolk donated six complete intersections, including signals, control panels and hardware. The average cost of a new intersection is $60,000, Doane said, adding that the equipment would have been scrapped here.
``It's much cheaper for us to give them away than to recycle them here,'' echoed Smith in Virginia Beach.
``We can't just turn them in for scrap. They have to be broken apart and the various materials recycled separately. There's an awful lot of labor involved in doing that.''
Smith did have one word of warning for Gonzalez. ``Seventeen people spend over $1 million a year taking care of (Virginia Beach's) traffic signals,'' he said with a grin, ``the more you have, the more it costs.''
That's a risk Gonzalez is willing to take, especially since he'll have a Spanish-speaking American technician available whenever he needs one.
Lincoln Figuereo, a native of the Dominican Republic and a Beach technician who made the trip to Costa Rica, made the Costa Rican director a promise.
``I told him I was only as far away as the nearest telephone,'' he said. MEMO: Staff writer Scott McCaskey contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
Left to right, Lincoln Figuereo, Carol Bowen, Ralph Smith, Luis
Gonzales, and Angel Morales inspect one of the 30 traffic signals
donated to Costa Rica by Virginia Beach.
by CNB