REDUCING TRAFFIC

Nov 25, 2014 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

As promised last week, I propose in this column to address the alternatives that are available to the government to reduce the parking problems in the city.
The approach of the government to this and many other problems has been to attempt to satisfy the demand for parking. This is an untenable approach towards the problem of parking in the city because it is impossible in such a cramped city to meet the present parking needs, much less to be able to satisfy future demand.
Vehicle traffic within the city has grown beyond the capacity of the city to absorb this volume of traffic. The city is not expanding. It remains a small city and instead of catering for traffic and zoning certain areas, there has been haphazard development, a situation compounded by bus and car parks being located in the heart of the city.
The government is trying to meet the demand for parking by covering over the canals of the city. Fortunately the floods of last week would have put any such plans on a permanent hold. Given what took place last week, there is no way that the government is going to cover any drains in the city, much less to do so for the purposes of parking.
Alternatives have to be found but these alternatives must be based on reducing the flow of vehicles into the city. And it must be predicated on a different approach.
What should be that approach? Well that approach should be about reducing the volume of traffic rather than trying to satisfy that demand?
The first question to be asked therefore is: How does one reduce the number of vehicles entering the city? Anyone who uses the public roads in Guyana can answer that. The traffic entering the city is heaviest during the school term and it is lightest when school closes for recess. Since however the number of school children entering the city in school days cannot be reduced, the solution has to be to reduce the number of vehicles transporting children to school. This is why school buses should be reintroduced for city schools.
Each of the five top secondary schools in Guyana which attract students from outside of the city should be allowed to have its own school buses to bring the students in from outside of the city. These buses should preferably be large buses capable of transporting about sixty students at any one time.
The buses should be operated by private individuals but should be exclusively assigned to the schools. If this arrangement cannot work, then the schools should operate the service. The students will pay a fee for the service; it should not be free.
If you have six hundred students each day being transported into the city by ten big buses, this will take at least one hundred vehicles off the road. But it will also have other effects. With fewer vehicles the existing traffic will flow faster into the city meaning less congestion during peak hours.
Secondly, a large number of persons commute to the city each day from East Coast, East Bank and West Demerara. The majority of these vehicles are for persons coming to the city for business or work. One way of reducing the resulting traffic is to reintroduce mass public transportation. Why for example cannot the government buy a few big buses which operate an express service from La Parfaite Harmonie, Mon Repos, Diamond and Enterprise to the city? These are big schemes and there are many workers and persons who if they have a reliable and express service to and from their housing scheme will rather use this and park their vehicles at home.
The third solution to reduce demand- and this is of particular importance during the Christmas season- is to have no-vehicle zones in the city. The city should be zoned in such a way that no vehicles should be allowed in certain streets, only pedestrians. If for example, the areas outside of the GRA are converted into a pedestrian zone, it will mean that persons wishing to do business in that area will have to park in the areas provided for parking and walk to the GRA to transact their business. The same can apply for zones in which Courts are located.
The government should not be attempting to satisfy the demand for parking. They should be attempting to reduce the number of vehicles that flow into the city each day. If they don’t we are going to have to spend billions each year in building all manner of infrastructure just to keep up with the increase in the number of vehicles.

Latest News

REDUCING TRAFFIC

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 11th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Minister Ramson hails Harpy Eagles Championship team following return...

GFF hosted first Referee Introductory Course for...

Ninvalle congratulates Harpy Eagles on West...

Wharton’s weighty five inspires Chase...

Vryman’s Erven Secondary wins inaugural...

Pele FC Alumni Corp. 2025 Youth Development...

Features/Columnists

The theatre of protest and the death of reason

Collaborative Government–Private Sector Action Imperative for a Resilient Trade Future

Resign or be removed

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

REDUCING TRAFFIC

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 11th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]