DANGER ZONE: Hill stop

Motorists who venture through the Garfield Sobers Roundabout during the morning rush hour have an arduous task. The daily frenetic state there demands of drivers – though not always successfully – patience. Level-headedness is the only practical answer to the current hustle and bustle – even though seemingly getting nowhere, or not going very far. The traffic came to a virtual standstill as frustrated commuters sought out extra lanes. Markings that indicated two now accommodated three lanes; and where they ought to be three, suddenly there were four or more. An impatient few drivers bullied their way out of the maze; a considerate many honked horns and flicked lights, the signal of letting others through. Some passengers read the newspaper; some motorists engaged the WEEKEND NATION team in conversation – all in an effort to bide time as the wait grew longer and longer.“It is a jungle out here, both morning and evening,” one driver said. “Take your pictures; let them see what we have to endure.”“It’s about time you highlighted up here. Watch how you’re crossing, and have a nice day,” said a passenger in another vehicle.It was easy going for pedestrians. With crossings in place and no fast pace of traffic, it was light work for the walkers.The traffic lines were long in all directions. Vehicles were backed up on all four roads joining the roundabout. Drivers coming from Warner’s and Sargeant’s Village in Christ Church and Wildey in St Michael had to wait it out. As drivers came to the Give Way point, they depended much upon the kindness of those to their right. Company-branded vehicles from nearby businesses Pine Hill Dairy, LIME, and Banks Breweries inched on. Government-owned vans, public service vehicles and taxis airport-bound and loaded with luggage moved through equally slowly – some more carefully than others.Most tested of all were drivers headed towards Rendezvous in Christ Church; motorists in three lanes here struggled to merge into one. Traffic came to a halt here the longest.So exasperated were some drivers, they opted for the illegal right turn onto Forde’s Road, ignoring the traffic sign indicating no such move between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. It was 9:30 a.m. when the WEEKEND NATION team started packing up. Traffic had eased up considerably – elsewhere but Rendezvous Hill that remained in gridlock. The Ministry of Transport and Works needs to look urgently at the lane imbalance there.