Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr William Duguid wants to see new approaches adopted to address the road traffic challenges.
He expressed support for traffic lights rather than roundabouts as Parliament debated land acquisition yesterday to construct a roundabout at Windsor, St George.
The minister, however, noted there were “horses for courses” and in the case of the planned roundabout this was the “absolute design”.
He added that roundabouts were designed to slow traffic.
“Traffic lights are better for high traffic areas,” he said.
Duguid said he had lost two family members to road accidents. He said improvement of road safety was a matter, “we owe to the people”. “I am a proponent for life,” he said.
He cited a location in Barbados as well as one in Britain where roundabouts had failed and had been replaced by traffic lights.
Duguid said: “Traffic has become an issue in this country, partly because of the quantum of vehicles that we have on the roads and partly because of the design of Barbados.”
He said Britain designed Barbados in a system of “spoke and hub”.
“What the spoke and hub does is that it draws everything down to a focus at the hub,” he said. This explains why there is traffic congestion in the early mornings and evenings, he suggested.
The minister said it is better to have a grid which does not focus traffic into a hub as the current design does.
“We recognise that we have a traffic issue. We recognise that we have to do something about it. Park and rides is one thing. Sharing rides, also, having times when today I drive, tomorrow you drive, the next day another person drives …” he said.
Duguid added: “We have to look for new and innovative ways, staggered times . . . staggered times for schools. And we have to get back to that.” (HH)
Contractors gonna feel it.