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| Traffic backed up along Wrightson Road during peak evening hours. |
Berbice- Let it go
Traffic, Traffic Traffic, Traffic!!! A
problem that seems to be becoming more and more prevalent as Trinidad and
Tobago becomes more urbanized. Public transport systems are not favored by
citizens and as such the single occupant vehicle triumphs over the high
occupancy vehicle. According to Hall and Barrett 2012, the levels of car based
mobility in cities vary greatly around the world. Generally what happens is
that the more densely populated cities tend to be characterized by lower levels
of car use. As population increases, the per capita use of fuel drops, car use
drops and the use of alternative modes of transport increases (Hall and Barrett
2012). Port of Spain is not densely populated and what occurs is that a number
of persons flock to the city during the morning time in their cars in order to
get to work creating enormous amounts of traffic. The reverse occurs of
evenings when persons finish work and attempt to leave the city to get to their
homes on the outskirts of the city.
The issues with traffic congestion can also
be attributed to the amount of vehicles allowed to enter the country. In
addition to this, the urban design can only accommodate a certain amount of
vehicles at one time. The question then arises should the city be re-designed
to as to accommodate the pedestrian instead of the vehicle? Also should
legislature be put in place to ensure that public transport is the only means
of transport allowed to enter the city of Port of Spain?
In Trinidad and Tobago, the traffic
situation within the urban center may not be unique to us as more developed
cities in the world do face this problem during rush hour periods. However, the
use of public transportation is more prominent in these developed cities, a
practice that is almost none- existent here. In Trinidad and Tobago, if you
wish to journey from Arima to Port of Spain which is approximately a 16
kilometre distance, you can spend up to 2- 3 hours in traffic, simply because
everyone wants to drive their cars into the city.
This speaks volumes in terms what the
distance the country has to go if indeed they want to create a sustainable
urban design and plan. Some sort of legislature needs to be put in place to
reduce the volume of cars entering into the cities as this can create a number
of environmental and infrastructural degradation.
Reference
Hall, Tim and Heather Barrett. 2012. “Transport
and Mobility in Cities.” In Urban Geography,4th Ed. London and New York:
Routledge.
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