There is good news tonight for drivers in Belize City. The famous traffic lights at the busy intersection of Douglas Jones Street and Freetown Road, near Cinderella Plaza, are back in operation after several months of being down due to issues with the lighting system. The Belize City Council obtained the necessary equipment earlier this week and the lights were reported in operation as of earlier today. These lights are the only working ones in Belize City as the others, at the corner of Central American Boulevard and Vernon Street, remain out. The only other pair of lights are in Orange Walk Town along the Queen Victoria Avenue. Back in February, Mayor Darrell Bradley was at the point of exasperation when asked about when the lights would be fixed, stating that Belize will have to stop spending money on lights as they are a bad idea; he prefers roundabouts as they are easier to maintain.

Channel 5

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City Brings Back Traffic Lights

For months, drivers in Belize City have been complaining about the madhouse intersection at Cinderella Plaza. It used to be regulated by traffic lights - but when those started giving too much maintenance problems, the city just gave up and stopped fixing them. That's turned this busy four way intersection into a dangerous free for all - where nobody seems to know who has the right of way.

In February, an exasperated mayor told the media why he thinks traffic lights are a waste of time:...

Darrell Bradley, Mayor - Belize City
"Man I've said this before "stop investing in stop lights," that's a stupid idea. Because build a round-about. I know the problems with maintenance in Belize City. I can't fix them. I am telling you that. So you will talk to the next mayor about another traffic light - stop spending money on stupid things."

Well, not so much a waste, apparently. This afternoon, for the first time in a very long while, we saw the lights working again. Traffic was flowing smoothly and drivers seemed less unsure about their movements. We'll see how long it lasts.

Channel 7