Senior Reporter
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
Two road safety advocates are calling for improved traffic management after four non-fatal accidents caused major gridlock yesterday morning.
TTPS Road Safety Coordinator Sgt Brent Batson said carpooling could help ease congestion, while Chief Traffic Engineer at the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Adande Piggott said a more integrated public transportation system could help reduce the country’s traffic problems. The men spoke after motorists spent hours stuck in traffic, with some forced to turn back and return home.
At about 5 am, an accident in El Socorro caused traffic to back up for commuters travelling from eastern and southern Trinidad. The delay was compounded by two other crashes, on the Uriah Butler Highway in Gasparillo and the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway in Maloney.
The congestion prompted authorities to open the Priority Bus Route (PBR), which also became gridlocked. Motorists heading east near the Maritime Roundabout faced delays as vehicles attempted to merge onto the PBR and drivers used Lady Young Road to access Port-of-Spain.
Drivers travelling west along the Diego Martin Highway were also caught in lengthy delays following an early morning accident. Traffic was further affected by the time it took to remove the damaged vehicles from the roadway.
Batson said the process for clearing accident scenes needed to be improved.
“Unfortunately, we’re limited in the number of roads available, and the level of motorisation in Trinidad and Tobago continues to increase. That means more cars using the same road network,” he said. “One thing Trinidad and Tobago has to seriously consider is a genuine attempt at carpooling. From the highway patrol standpoint, when we survey vehicles entering Port-of-Spain, the majority have only a single occupant.”
Piggott agreed that carpooling could help, but noted that legal taxis and PH vehicles already provide a form of carpooling by transporting multiple passengers. He said the public transportation network needed to be better integrated, with mass transit moving commuters into and out of major urban centres, while taxis connected them to other destinations, including rural communities.
“The transportation system needs to be more integrated so that all modes of transportation work together. Many times, we see them competing with each other. If you look at taxis, maxi-taxis, buses and water taxis, they are all serving the same destinations,” Piggott said.
“What we have to do is integrate the system, allow mass transit to do more of the work, and have taxis play a more flexible role by carrying people to areas that are not easily accessible. Instead, everyone is competing for the same space.”
Like Batson, Piggott also called for a faster process to remove damaged vehicles from roadways so traffic could resume more quickly.
He said discussions were already under way with the TTPS on ways to clear accident scenes more efficiently and minimise disruptions to traffic flow.
