Senior Multimedia Journalist
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Traffic congestion has plagued San Fernando for the past few decades despite the efforts of the police and City Corporation officials.
The streets around the city’s schools are congested, with the worst traffic occurring at Independence Avenue, Ruth Avenue, Seukaran Street, Farah Street, Todd Street, Cipero Street, Rushworth Street Pointe-a-Pierre Road and Harris Promenade.
To address the problem, San Fernando Mayor Robert Parris said continuous traffic alleviation research and traffic reduction measures have been implemented.
During the tenure of former San Fernando Mayor (now Minister) Kazim Hosein, Parris served as chairman of the Physical Infrastructure and Transport Committee and was tasked with finding solutions to the city’s traffic problem.
“Over the years, we have had some success. We have worked with law enforcement in problematic areas. We created designated drop-off and pick-up areas near the city’s schools and in Gulf View we set up barriers.
“All of this has assisted in alleviating traffic along Carib Street near Grant School and the Gulf View Link Road,” he said.
Parris credited his predecessor, Junia Regrello, with successfully tackling inner city traffic, including congestion at peak time.
“We face challenges because of the number of cars coming into the city. If we are to get rid of the traffic we must redirect these cars out of the city,” he said.
He proposed a shuttle service with special buses for each school to pick up and drop off students.
“If we can get the parents to buy into the idea, we could set up school zones so people can drop their children off in certain areas and the bus will take them to school. That way we do not have all parents coming into the city to drop children off,” Parris explained.
He also suggested that vacant lots be upgraded to parking areas and expansion of traffic hubs in the city’s periphery to reduce the number of cars coming in.
Parris said the newly opened Parkade is successful and in demand, as more people are parking there and using the water taxi to get into Port-of-Spain.
Apart from creating more parking, and setting up school drop-off zones, Parris plans to widen certain areas. He also wants to get solutions from the public, plans to re-establish the SFCC’s Regional Coordinating Committee and said revamping the Public Service Transport Corporation (PTSC) to include additional routes and hourly bus stops should also be considered.
“I think if we get a better bus service and the introduction of a shuttle service on the city’s outskirts, this will reduce the number of cars coming into the city,” he said.
Parris said the recent removal of vendors from High Street eased the bottleneck in the city’s main shopping area.
He plans to mount a public education campaign to promote carpooling.
“If you look at people stuck in traffic, you will see almost every vehicle has no passengers. We need to encourage carpooling,” he said.
Inner-city taxi drivers say much of the traffic around schools is caused by “bad driving” and flouting of traffic regulations.
“Along Pointe-a-Pierre Road parents often line up as early as 11 am to get a parking space even though Naparima Girls’ High School dismisses at 2.30 pm. This causes a lot of traffic. These female drivers don’t give way and they should fire the police because the police create traffic,” one driver complained.
Taxi drivers on the San Fernando to Port-of-Spain route say traffic is much better in the southern city.
Martin Fortune, who has been working the route for 20 years, said there is a higher volume of cars in Port-of-Spain.
“In San Fernando, they rerouted some of the cars and that helped. They also did not allow P cars to go on High Street and that eased congestion as well,” he said.
He suggested rerouting some of the vehicles to prevent bottlenecks around the school zones.
Fortune said the traffic to Port-of-Spain is painful.
“It seems they are doing a new lane to help ease the traffic so we have to bear with them. They have eased the situation by using the shoulder but it’s still a lot of traffic. Let’s hope it works,” he said.
Ulric Kirton, who has lived in San Fernando for 70 years, said San Fernando was always a city pursuing traffic solutions.
“The Corporation is always looking at new ideas and solutions which is good. San Fernando is easier to handle. People come here to shop particularly on a weekend because shopping here is much cheaper than in Port-of-Spain,” he said.
Randy Sinanan, of Fyzabad, a regular user of the water taxi service, said: “Traffic is really bad, a colleague of mine took three hours from Port-of-Spain to San Fernando so I try my best to use the water taxi.”
Sinanan agreed that San Fernando’s traffic congestion has improved.
“Under the former Mayor Regrello, they alleviated the traffic at South Park and also by SAPA. The traffic is flowing a lot better there,” he said.
Sgt Pooran Nandlal said one of the main factors contributing to San Fernando is the location of schools in the city, as well as the number of businesses.
“Lack of proper parking is also a problem, particularly in the Todd Street area where there are six schools and Carib Street area where there are two schools,” he said.
“If you look at off-school periods, you will see a reduction in traffic,” Nandlal said, adding that the T&T Police Service (TTPS) has partnered with municipal police officers and traffic wardens to deal with congestion.
“Specific officers are assigned at specific times to coincide with the peak traffic time. We appeal to parents to utilize the Skinner Park Second Class grounds to facilitate pick-up and drop-offs. We have seen once this initiative is in place and is utilized, the traffic buildup and the time spent in traffic are less,” he said.
Noting that people spend an average of one hour in traffic daily, Nandlal added: “We have said no parking on Independence Avenue. We have also tried the Park and Ride but what caused that downfall is the lack of appropriate parking.”
Assistant Commissioner of Police Alicia Henry said the police want to partner with citizens to deal with traffic congestion.
“This is a small city and it is densely populated. We have a lot of schools in the city, peak periods are mornings and evenings. We have spoken to the Mayor and we have asked citizens to park and ride, use the parkade and the police are there to make the city safe. We are in this together,” she said.
