Summary.
The bill proposes a National Road Signage Program for Public Works in the Republic of Panama to govern the placement of traffic signs during public works, plan their execution, and mitigate vehicle congestion. Its stated aims include road safety and the flow of traffic. It defines the company responsible for a project as the legal entity awarded a public contract. Public works include construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, or adaptation of infrastructure carried out by the State or its autonomous or semiautonomous entities, using public funds or under a concession. The bill also defines traffic controllers, permanent signage, and road signage.
The Transit and Land Transportation Authority (Autoridad de Tránsito y Transporte Terrestre) would be the Program’s competent authority throughout the Republic of Panama. The Program’s objectives include placing and using traffic signs properly, preventing congestion, and enabling drivers and pedestrians to pass safely through work zones. It calls for clear, visible signs identifying work areas, detours, speed limits, and other necessary precautions. It also seeks to inform drivers, pedestrians, and workers about following traffic signs and appropriate procedures during public works.
The bill assigns the State, acting through the competent authority, the duty to install and oversee traffic signs at all public works under way. It further requires permanent signs to be installed within a maximum of one (1) month after inauguration. Local governments planning works that affect road circulation would have to notify the Transit and Land Transportation Authority fifteen (15) days in advance. The notice would include a vehicle congestion mitigation plan identifying internal roads for traffic flow and the work schedule. The authority and the community board would publicize that information for residents.
During works that cause congestion, the Transit and Land Transportation Authority would have to provide traffic controllers. If it lacked the capacity to do so, the company responsible for the works would privately hire a person with traffic knowledge and pay for that service until the authority could assume responsibility. The same authority would oversee compliance with the proposed law. Companies responsible for works that fail to comply would face the fines established in the applicable regulations. The bill provides that it would enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette.
The provisions concern the Transit and Land Transportation Authority, local governments, and community boards. They could be of interest to or affect public works contractors, roadwork employees, drivers, pedestrians, and other road users.
What it proposes.
- Road signage during public works.
- Detour planning and vehicle congestion mitigation.
- Traffic controllers, oversight, and penalties.
Who it would affect.
- Transit and Land Transportation Authority
- Local governments and community boards
- Companies responsible for public works
- Drivers and pedestrians in work zones
Key points.
- Creates a national program to mark public works and mitigate congestion during their execution.Art. 1
- Defines public works, responsible companies, traffic controllers, and types of signage.Art. 2
- Places the Program under the Transit and Land Transportation Authority throughout the national territory.Art. 3
- Sets objectives for safety, traffic flow, visible signage, and awareness among road users and workers.Art. 4
- Requires signs during works to be installed and supervised, and permanent signs to be installed within a maximum of one (1) month after inauguration.Art. 5
- Requires local governments to notify the authority fifteen (15) days before works affecting traffic and submit a mitigation plan for public dissemination.Art. 6
- Provides for traffic controllers in congested areas and, when the authority cannot supply them, their hiring and payment by the responsible company.Art. 7
- Assigns oversight to the transit authority and provides for fines under the regulations for companies that fail to comply.Art. 8