Drivers who have been commuting to and from Georgetown during rush-hour traffic over the last five years can attest to the worsening nightmare they are confronted with on a daily basis with no apparent end in sight. Unfortunately, the traffic congestion does not conclude after rush hour, the only change is a dip in its intensity.
Driving in Georgetown can now be equated to a real life board game where, apparently, the rules have been randomly selected from Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Texas Hold ‘em Poker, and Chess, and blended for a new game. The Highway Code is not applicable in this game since road signs are clearly there to be mostly ignored. It’s the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest and bravest in a modern-day version of the Wild West. It’s nothing short of a miracle that there are not several fatal vehicular accidents every day.
If one were to observe (standing way back for safety reasons) any busy intersection, say for instance Camp and Quamina streets, for an hour or two on a school day, there are bound to be some, if not all of the following scenarios. (1) The incessant honking of horns which begins instantaneously if someone stops to let school children or other pedestrians cross the road. This inconsiderate action does not cease until the crossing is completed. If it goes beyond a minute, the honker will lean out of his vehicle to inform the driver who stopped of his ancestry accompanied by a slew of expletives. (2) A minibus, will pass another vehicle on the wrong side (the local word coined for this activity is ‘undertake’) and screech to a halt just ahead. The side and back doors will open, unfolding a scene similar to the circus clown car with school children pouring from both apertures like a burst sago bag, as one hopelessly attempts to determine their number.
(3) Drivers crossing Camp Street inching forward very slowly, or in the parlance of the street “pushing the nose of the car into oncoming traffic” whilst hoping for the best, since vehicles are parked in every possible spot available right up to the corners, thus sharply restricting visibility. Intrepid drivers crawl into the intersection, forcing the oncoming traffic to halt, often resulting in gridlock. The incessant blaring of horns commences, increasing in intensity as it drifts down the line of backed-up cars. After a poker-faced stare down, and possibly an exchange of choice words, one driver will complete a sharp manoeuvre creating a gap in the traffic, and allowing the crossing car to pass the intersection. Possibly a physical altercation is averted.
(4) Lorries straddling the centre of Camp Street, drivers perched high in the cab, hands glued to their horns oblivious to everything around; two lanes of traffic are forced to yield to this ominous size. One might even see a tractor trailer hauling a 20 ft container bouncing through the intersection, as pedestrians wait cautiously for an opportunity to scramble across to the safety of the avenue. If the shrill sound of a siren cuts through the din, heads will swivel, expecting an ambulance speeding to the hospital, only to discover it’s a government official escorted by outriders parting the traffic for the oversized SUV.
Several factors are contributing to the current hopeless state of disorder in traffic in Georgetown, and a concerted effort would be required by the relevant authorities to rectify it before it slips even further out of control. One insurance broker estimates that the vehicle population has increased by almost 40,000 in the last four years (the equivalent of one licence series per annum). This figure, of course, would be subject to verification by the Guyana Revenue Authority. Possibly, half of those vehicles are either based in Georgetown, or active in the city during business hours. This staggering increase, which will only continues to escalate, has seen no concomitant expansion in roadways or parking areas.
The two main arteries funnelling traffic into the city: the East Coast and the East Bank public roads – the latter also filtering traffic from the Demerara Harbour Bridge – are already bulging at the seams. Although members of the Police Traffic Department are doing an admirable job at various points along these routes to keep the flow moving as best as they can in the circumstances, their valiant efforts are stymied by a major faux pas. The North-South corridor of Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue, which is the first primary filter from both arteries and was the subject of a multi-million dollar makeover, inexplicably is just one lane in either direction for the length of Sheriff Street – from the East Coast Road to Homestretch Avenue. As the designated stops for minibuses to drop off and pick up passengers are well conceived, the addition of bicycle lanes on a road with such heavy vehicular traffic can only be viewed as mind boggling. One would have thought that the use of bicycles would have been confined to the parallel side streets and crossings of Sheriff Street and restricted to intersections with traffic lights.
Of course, the main factor contributing to all this gridlock and tension is the complete lack of regard for the Highway Code coupled with a total absence of courtesy towards other road users by a significant number of drivers. We are all well aware of the chief culprits in this area; minibus drivers, who, to paraphrase Mark Twain, obey neither the laws of God, mankind nor their own. Joining forces with these lawbreakers are a number of drivers who recently acquired their licences by whatever means, and appear to have just graduated from playing Grand Theft Auto V on their Xboxes or Game Boys. How does a society deal with these traffic offenders who seem to have no regard for law and order, and hide behind a layer of tinted glass? Speaking of which, whatever became of the campaign to curb tinted windscreens? In the 1970s, the then Traffic Chief, while reading a speech on broadcast radio, encountered a word used to describe the traffic situation at the time. Apparently unfamiliar with the word, he thus proceeded to pronounce it as “chouce”. That word was chaos. If the current state of affairs is not addressed forthwith, Georgetown is destined for even more traffic chaos.
