Dear Editor,
It appears as if the City of Georgetown has reached maximum capacity or near such, insofar as vehicular traffic is concerned. This situation is apparently leading our City Planners to make decisions which are more like one trying to repair a leaky garden hose, the more you fix it the more leaks appear. I would imagine that there are ongoing studies regarding traffic flow in the more critical areas of the city. These studies would likely take into consideration where traffic is coming from and going each day of each week over a protracted period to get a reasonable idea of which roads need attention and how it will affect parking, and business places, schools, and households in each area.
There are roads and minor streets which are now seeing increased traffic, an uncommon phenomenon in the not-too-distant past. What we do know is that more businesses, including private schools which are opening, and the ongoing and seemingly unregulated construction of much larger buildings where cottages or smaller buildings once stood, is not helping our city congestion. The occupants of these businesses, apartments, hotels etc. will now all need parking, which adds to our woes and future planning. Zoning laws is now more necessary than ever, and errant lawbreakers should not be allowed to hide behind the persons they know or who know them to circumvent these laws. Guyana will not and cannot make significant progress if we continue to behave like the law is not for a chosen few.
Recently I read that Carifesta, an approximate one-mile-long dual carriage way, will now be widened to four traffic lanes. Will this solve anything or create a bigger problem than that which now exists? Where this road begins, at the Kitty Round About, there is rush hour chaos as traffic from five points of the compass all meet in a familiar jostle to get through the roundabout to their various destinations via Carifesta. Further, it is also my understanding that some sports’ grounds are to be relocated to make way for hotels, which will undoubtedly create heavier traffic flow. Going West on Carifesta is Mariam Academy and shortly thereafter is the controlled junction of Camp and Young streets, with traffic again going in all directions, rendering the traffic lights there useless during rush hours to keep traffic moving.
Now imagine two lanes of traffic, along Carifesta converging at the same two points, Kitty Roundabout in the East and at the Camp and Young streets in the west. Seems like more of the same to me. I am just thinking, would it not make better sense to upgrade Thomas Road to a first class two way going west only and widen the seawall road with adequate drainage and two wide lanes going east only. In this way Carifesta can remain a dual carriageway going east and west which hopefully will give traffic entering and leaving the city more options. Another issue is that our city blocks are small so consideration should be given, if possible, to shortening the length of time it takes to navigate traffic signals, reducing traffic back up. Regular traffic patrols on busy streets and roads should also be commonplace to keep traffic moving smoothly.
Some drivers turn around in traffic while others park badly, and rogues break ranks to pass waiting traffic at lights and elsewhere cutting off all others. Roads like David St Kitty to Sheriff St., Middleton Street and Sandy Babb between Vlissengen and Sheriff Sts. to name a few, are all crying out for attention and control especially during rush hours. I appreciate that there is no easy fix to our traffic chaos, which is at saturation level and require the full cooperation of all road users and more diligent and better equipped and trained police together with ongoing traffic planning to keep order. Road users appear impatient and will pass you and force oncoming traffic to a stop just to be one car ahead of you. Georgetown is small and therefore require Courtesy and Commonsense more than anything else to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Good luck with Carifesta, hopefully it will work out.
Sincerely,
( Name and Address Provided)