Was the seawall roundabout necessary?

Apr 27, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

President Granger cautioned that Guyana must be careful how it copies things from abroad. He was reacting to a question about changing the section of the law relating to penalty for the possession of marijuana.
By now, most citizens in this country would know their leaders often say things and do the opposite. Mr. Granger’s government does copy from other nations. He simply used the marijuana law to offer an excuse for not amending the legislation.
In my opinion, the imminent seawall roundabout was an emulation of what obtains in other countries but in terms of the nature, flow and shape of traffic at that area, it will not be in anyway superior to the traffic light system, we had before the roundabout was landscaped.
I have always argued that you do not need to be a lawyer to understand laws. Eusi Kwayana stands out saliently in this example. He knew law with the sane depth that a judge or lawyer did.
I am not an engineer but I am an experienced driver. I am not an engineer but I know the roundabout site more than any person who sits in the Cabinet or any engineer at the Ministry of Public Works (oops, sorry, Public Infrastructure).
What purpose this roundabout will serve? It is my layman’s opinion that the roundabout will beautify but has no new traffic meaning. Let me explain. In the old system, you had traffic lights to regulate the following flow – west on Public Road, Kitty to go onto Carifesta Avenue; east on Carifesta Avenue to catch Clive Lloyd Drive to the east coast; east on Carifesta Avenue to turn south into Vlissengen Road; north on J. B. Singh road (that is the continuation of Irving Street which stops at Lamaha Street where it becomes J. B. Singh Road) to go either west on Carifesta Avenue or to get onto Clive Lloyd Drive to go to the east coast.
How is the roundabout different from this system? It is not. It is identical except there is now a roundabout. This is a huge circle, which will be laced with a flower garden and have fountains sprouting water into the skies with coruscating lights. That is all this much talked about project is.
The Guyanese people were told that there will be a new traffic system at the roundabout. That is misleading. The traffic lights are going up at the same places they were before the roundabout was architectured.
I am on the seawall all the time so I was there from the beginning of this construction. Many times, I would put my dog down, contemplate the scene and tell myself this was a waste of money, precious funds which the country can ill afford.
Most mornings, I wanted to engage the engineers. One of them told me he thinks it doesn’t make sense. So, on Thursday morning, I parked, took my dog in hand and went up to the man responsible for supervising the project – Sherod Parkinson.
Mr. Parkinson went into details to explain to me how the traffic will be easier than when there was the old system. I told Mr. Parkinson his explanations had huge holes and none of them made sense to me.
Mr. Parkinson said I am only allowed to quote three things out of the dozens of things he said to me; the roundabout will make travelling in the vicinity easier; there will be traffic lights as usual and you cannot change a man’s mind when it is made up. The last one refers to me since I told him I did not accept his descriptions of the superiority over the old system.
After speaking to Mr. Parkinson, some of the employees came up to me, told me they like my dog and asked me what was my problem with Mr. Parkinson? I told them the roundabout will not change the traffic system.
One of them spoke loudly, “Mr. Kissoon, you like it or not?” to which I replied, “That is not the point, I was talking about traffic improvement and it will not improve the traffic flow.” Then another worker yelled out; “Oh God, Guyanese always criticizing.”
The circle called the roundabout is too large. I told Parkinson that. It impinges on the road space when you come over from Public Road, Kitty to get to Carifesta Avenue. Drivers will not be circling the roundabout. They simply will drive pass and watch it, not drive around it.
It will be nice in the night but I guess that was what it was all about in the first place. The foregoing is simply my opinion.

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