Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
Chaos on East, West Bank as police suspend three-lane traffic
For the second day, traffic on East and West Demerara was in chaos as police suspended a three-lane system at peak hours to cater for the volume of traffic from the west side.
Traffic yesterday morning
Yesterday, General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, Rawlston Adams, made it clear that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the bridge.
He said he was informed that there will be no three-lane as of Tuesday.
The three-lane system was introduced years ago to cater for peak traffic in the morning and afternoon period.
In the morning, traffic would head two-lane east on the Harbour Bridge with three lane introduced on the East Bank road leading to the city. In the afternoon, the situation is reversed.
However, on Tuesday, it appeared that orders came down from the police hierarchy in Georgetown for the three-lane arrangements to be scrapped.
The backlash was immediate as angry commuters took to social media and even called media houses to voice their frustrations.
From schoolchildren, to workers to business owners…all were affected. Even reporters were caught in the
The traffic situation on Saffon Street, Charlestown yesterday, around 17:30 hrs.
mix.
Yesterday, the frustrations were worse as traffic crawled.
Attorney-at-law Jaya Manickchand was one affected. Her three-year-old daughter left 06:45hrs for school in Georgetown. Her vehicle reached across the bridge at 09:30hrs.
They live in Versailles, West Bank Demerara. The lawyer said that her child woke up at 05:00hrs.
There were calls from a number of other executives.
The situation was compounded by not enough police ranks on the roads to control the traffic.
The minibuses were overtaking on the inside, causing traffic to snarl at several points.
“The police apparently did not think this through as consultations with the stakeholders would have found that to suspend the current system would have been madness.”
Traffic Chief: Linden Isles
However when Kaieteur News tried attempted to make calls to the Traffic Chief, Linden Isles yesterday, they were going straight to voice mails.However, officials indicated that Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, is expected to lead a team to the East Bank area this morning around 07:00hrs to assess the situation.
With a women’s cricket competition scheduled for the National Stadium, Providence, this evening, the fears of enduring another day of the congestion would be unthinkable.
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