Going around in circles, literally!

April 10, 2016 | By KNews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....n-circles-literally/

Roundabouts are being deployed throughout the Caribbean as a means of reducing traffic congestion. Traffic lights have proven inferior to the use of roundabouts and traffic circles when it comes to reducing traffic jams and build-ups, especially during peak hours
A letter writer reminded us recently that Guyana does have a roundabout. It is in the middle of the city where Avenue of the Republic merges with Main Street and Church Street. The roundabout is circumscribed by the Cenotaph.
It is the only roundabout that some people know of in Guyana.  But would you believe that the traffic flowing through that roundabout is controlled by traffic lights? Yes, Guyana has a roundabout, has had it for over one hundred years, and it has had traffic lights for as long as anyone alive can remember.
The Guyana Police Force, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works, should launch a pilot programme at that junction to initiate Guyanese into using roundabouts. They may have to prevent persons from proceeding east along Church Street from the Guyana Stores area, because that will involve traffic crossing the roundabout lanes that already exist. This crossing could result in confusion and accidents.
Roundabouts do not reduce traffic accidents, they reduce traffic congestion. There is likely to be more accidents if and when roundabouts are first introduced, but this will reduce drastically as motorists become more accustomed to using the roundabouts.
There are many junctions at which traffic lights can be decommissioned and roundabouts established. Roundabouts are the perfect solution to end traffic congestion at junctions where major arteries intersect.
The junction where Vlissengen Road, Homestretch Avenue and Croal Street meet is a good point for a roundabout, which can be combined with an interlocking roundabout where Hadfield Street, Brickdam and Vlissengen Road meet.
Another area where a roundabout can be placed is at the junction of Carifesta Avenue, Vlissengen Road and Public Road, Kitty. This is a busy junction and is one of the major causes of traffic backing up all the way to Bel Air during peak hours in the mornings. A roundabout would solve a lot of problems at this junction.
One area where a roundabout is needed is at the junction of the Harbour Bridge and the East Bank Public Road. Actually the combination of a roundabout at this junction along with a bypass road which will link the East Bank to the East Coast may be so effective that there may not be a need to build a new bridge across the Demerara River.
The problem with building a roundabout at this junction is that there is limited space. This brings us to the age-old problem of people being allowed to occupy reserves and then to gain permanent possession of the land, thus limiting the scope for public works when these are needed.
It will be costly to obtain land for a traffic circle or roundabout at this junction, but the authorities can try to be creative and find a way for traffic going South along the East Bank Public Road to divert and bypass the junction with the Harbour Bridge, thereby avoiding the need for traffic lights at that location.
A similar arrangement should be looked at for the junction of the East Bank Public Road and the Eccles Housing Scheme, where a lot of traffic will emanate from soon.
The junction at New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop is another nightmare junction for which neither traffic lights or a roundabout is going to be effective. A system of bypass roads should be used for that area.
The reason for mentioning all of these locations is because the effectiveness of roundabouts in improving the flow of traffic depends greatly on having many of them. In other words, it is not enough to have a few roundabouts. There has to be many if tragic congestion is going to be reduced.
It makes no sense having a traffic roundabout at the Harbour Bridge junction, unless there is another one at the intersection of Eccles with the East Bank Public Road. The improved flow of traffic at the junction with the Bridge will cause an overflow at the other location where traffic will build up.
The government should therefore consider implementing trial projects of about ten roundabouts for areas with heavy vehicular movement each day. They should do so because the traffic lights simply cannot cope with the increase in vehicles on the road.