For many years, Santo Domingo residents have complained about traffic agents standing under working traffic lights and directing traffic at peak travel times. The perception is that the automated lights do a better job than the AMET agents.
In response to this criticism, General Pablo Arturo Pujols of Amet says that at peak times tests have shown that if the agents did not act, the bottlenecks would be worse. “We are the ones who have the greatest interest in ensuring that traffic flows properly, and it is our objective to guarantee the effective circulation of commuters,” he said, as reported in El Nacional.
He said that the streets of the Poligono Central are congested almost all day long and require human intervention.
“Agents don’t give priority to passing one way or another at their whim,” he said. He explained that a monitoring center guides the agents on correct traffic management in order to prevent worse situations.