Dear Editor,
I wish to add to the Traffic Chief’s headaches by presenting him with two traffic hazards which, unlike the high rate of traffic accidents bemoaned by Mr S Bates (SN, June 26), can be readily dealt with. The first is persons parking their vehicles in Albert Street, just feet away from the stop sign at North Road, to make purchases at the bakery. This business has expanded into a small outlet at that corner and motorists perversely park immediately outside of this outlet to do business there. To get to the stop sign one has to go around these vehicles, or wait until traffic crossing south into Albert Street has passed. The same happens when traffic is turning into Albert Street from North Road. And if one is driving one of these humongous pick-ups one has to stop at an angle in front of the sign, if one is not to progress beyond the sign onto North Road.
The Second, and this is much to the disgrace of the Alberttown Traffic Department (I’ve noticed traffic ranks operating out of the station now) the other is a more serious situation in which vehicles – minibuses, cars, motor cyclists, etc − turn into Albert Street and stop directly in front of the fast food outlet at the corner of Third and Albert Streets to enter the outlet. So, vehicles turning north into Albert Street are immediately faced with unnecessary hazards, and have to again ease around these obstacles to continue their journey. Need I dilate on the folly and danger of this inconsiderate behaviour of drivers? Fortunately there is a stop sign in Third Street and vehicles would proceed slowly around the corner after pausing. Were Third Street a right-of-way, as in the not too distant past, drivers would have turned into Albert Street a little faster, with uncalled for consequences. But what is singularly striking about this particular traffic violation is that the Alberttown Police station is just about 100 metres from the outlet, and none of the officers seems to have observed these hindrances to the free flow of traffic at this busy corner. I have spoken to ranks buying snacks there and maybe they were too junior to report this to their seniors, or maybe they just shrugged it off as a waste of time reporting it anyway.
But if that was the case perhaps their attitude was influenced by the approach taken by the Officer-in-Charge of the station in allowing vehicles to be parked opposite the exit by which the huge fire truck has to emerge, in somewhat of a hurry, to answer calls. I brought this to the attention of a colleague of mine last year, who was a friend of the former Traffic Chief, and much to my relief, vehicles were debarred from parking in that dangerous area. I won’t ask my colleague again to intervene, if indeed this was the result of his intervention, but I only hope that common sense and professionalism on the part of the Traffic Department would prevail, and this unruly and discourteous behaviour would be brought to an end on both accounts.
Yours faithfully,
L Applewhaite