…longer but time-efficient
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IMAGINE, what normally takes 10 minutes took me almost an hour!
Residing in the St. Peters area, my daily routine dictates that in order to get to Basseterre – for business or pleasure – I would take public or private transportation.
A couple days ago, however, while travelling in a private vehicle from the St. Peters area en route to Basseterre, frustration took its toll because although I left my home with more than enough time to get to work early, doing so proved futile.
As the seemingly mile-long queue shortened and the vehicle in which I was slowly inched towards the city, the cause of the bottleneck became clear; an accident had taken place just outside the road that leads to the Washington Archibald High School.
Though frustrated because he too was late, the driver of the vehicle sprang into action and took an alternative route. We got to our destinations that morning almost one hour after the scheduled time; still in good time though, considering how long it would have taken had the alternative route not been traversed.
Head of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force’s Traffic Department Inspector Cromwell Henry said he was made aware of the situation by affected motorists and has also taken note of complaints by many others concerning the traffic congestion.
The Inspector expressed that situations such as these are bound to arise, especially with the Federation at a stage in its development where the vehicle population has outgrown the road network. He however explained that until the nation reaches that stage where the road network adequately caters to the vehicle population, motorists should map and utilise alternative routes whenever necessary.
“Motorists need to think about where they are going and think about the routes that are least congested and utilised those routes. In that way, we would spread the road use evenly across the road network rather than congesting a single area. You would find that while some alternative routes might be longer, you would save time and fuel by using them. We have reached a point in our development where motorists have to plan their routes and avoid traditional routes which are not necessary.
“For example, driving along Fort Street and Cayon Street, even Central Street; while these are main arteries in Basseterre, sometimes dependant on your destination, it is not necessary to use some of the main arteries in Basseterre. If one is at the Industrial Site and one wishes to go to De Village, there is no need - especially during the peak periods - to use Cayon Street or the Bay Road to get to that area. Rather, the F. T. Williams Highway can be utilised either from the Kim Collins Highway or by connecting from Taylors Range via Ponds Extension. Similarly, if one is on the Bay road in town and one wishes to go towards the northern side of the island via Conaree, there is no need for one to use Fort Street to get to that side of the island. One can use the Bay Road and proceed to Kim Collins High Way.”
Inspector Henry appealed to motorists to make concerted efforts to curb incidences of congestion.
“The traffic Department is asking motorists to appreciate that our vehicle popular is increasing at a much faster rate than the road network. So, inevitably there will be some amount of congestion which cannot be avoided. What needs to happen is that motorists take measures that would reduce the congestion such as carefully planned routes, car pooling, use of public transport and good-old leave your vehicle at home and walk once you live within reasonable distance from your place of employ.”
