Traffic Congestion

A typical commuter (one who drives a vehicle) to the city of Port of Spain spends at least 2-4 hours per day in traffic depending on where you’re coming from. That’s equivalent to 20 hours per working week; 80 hours per month; 960 hours per year which is equivalent to 40 days of our lives annually we spend in traffic? Scary isn't it.

Traffic congestion is a dilemma in cities around the world. It is a condition where road networks are saturated with vehicles resulting in slow movement and longer travelling times but people do it any way. The concentration of activities in one particular area encourages it and so decentralization might be a good idea to solve its problems.

In Trinidad and Tobago all major and important services are rendered within the city of Port of Spain making it a requirement that a large amount of persons visit the city for various activities. Persons who are living within the city and environs are not only the ones who are commuting to the city to work but persons from all corners of the nation. Spending wasted time in traffic has become routinely part of the lives of those living and working in Trinidad especially those in the city of Port of Spain; most persons endure the toil as it’s a means of securing a livelihood. 

The photo above shows a traffic congested road at midday along Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. On the day the photo was taken the traffic pile up seen here spanned as far as Aranguez Flyover. The photo the portrays the familiar experiences of drivers as they sit in their vehicles and patiently and some impatiently wait to get to where they want to go. As a driver who is always in traffic, sometimes I feel its best to park up the vehicle and walk. Walking most times gets you thee faster. 

Some persons believe that it’s simply a matter of having too much cars on the road. According to Hall and Barrett (1998) it is believed that social spaces of city life are affected by increasing dominance of vehicular use. In many cities it can be seen that a large proportion of urban land has been designated to vehicles. This is so true and relevant to not only foreign cities but also Port of Spain. The news paper articles will further inform you about the traffic situation in Port of Spain and the island at large. 

http://guardian.co.tt/editorial/2013-02-08/traffic-jamming-commuters-daily

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/letters/Simply_too_many_cars_on_the_nation_s_roads-170861001.html

In the view of  Hall and Barrett (1998) urban social life is degraded by the dominance of vehicles in cities. This could be valid as time spend driving reduces the amount of time that you interact with other persons, especially if you do not car pool. 

What do we do with the vehicles when we get to our destination? 

The photo above shows one of many car parks located at 44-58 Edward Street, Port of Spain owned and operated by Neal Co. Properties. In an attempt to reduce congestion along the streets of the city we have to now allocate valuable land spacing for vehicles for what could have been put to better use. For example at the International Waterfront Center millions of dollars was spent to construct a 7 storey car park for accommodation of 1200 vehicles. Do you think it’s a waste of resources?

Reference:

Hall, Tim, and Heather Barrett.1998. Urban geography. London: Routledge.

Guardian Newspaper. 2013. "Traffic jamming commuters daily." The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper. http://guardian.co.tt/editorial/2013-02-08/traffic-jamming-commuters-daily (accessed April 6, 2014).

Qunital , Joel . 2013.Trinidad Express Newspaper. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/letters/Simply_too_many_cars_on_the_nation_s_roads-170861001.html