Barbados’ roads are a dangerous place – whether or not we want to admit it.
The tremendous increase in the number of vehicles imported into the island over the last two decades and the construction of modern highways that accommodate higher speed limits in many regards give us the sense that we are living in a metropolitan environment.
That we have not lost more lives and suffered more injuries and financial losses on our roads might be more a matter of divine providence than any design on the part of our road users and transport authorities.
While roadways like the ABC, Spring Garden, Ronald Mapp and Charles Duncan O’Neal highways have facilitated movement at higher speeds, many more of our roads have not changed to accommodate the more than 120 000 vehicles now said to be criss-crossing the country daily.
Most of our roads are still characterised by narrow lanes, which in many instances are not specifically marked, “blind corners”, overhanging trees, junctions with extremely poor visibility, rock outcroppings that should have been bulldozed away a quarter century ago, inadequate lighting and signage that could be better situated.
It is the combination of these factors that can cause our overcrowded streets to be populated by traffic that crawls at such a speed that the chances of accidents are reduced, and that when such accidents do occur the damage is minimal – a kind of blessing in disguise.
While we are thankful for the blessing, however, even in these strained economic times we would like those who are responsible for the development of our road network to pay some attention to these matters. We can save more lives and the expenditure of foreign exchange on vehicle parts if we do, since the factors that slow us down during peak periods can be our most dangerous enemy at night and other off-peak periods when traffic is reduced.
But there is one area, in particular, that our Government must allocate resources toward as a matter of urgency – the absence of pedestrian pavements on the vast majority of our roads, even some of the most heavily used. It is a situation that should not exist to this extent in 2014.
The rate at which our pedestrians find themselves literally paralysed between the road edge and speeding vehicles, jumping from the road to some embankment to avoid being crushed, or just simply facing down these mechanised metal chariots is simply unacceptable.
One only needs to take a trip along Highway 1 – anywhere between Black Rock in St Michael and Six Men’s in St Peter – to see how tourists visiting our shores are literally scared out of their wits when they come face to face with these scenarios which Barbadians appear to accept as par for the course.
We cannot allow this situation to continue. It is time for our Minister of Transport and Works to direct his technocrats and traffic experts to devise and disclose a plan to ensure that all our major roads are fitted with sidewalks.
Our people deserve nothing less. Our politicians owe us nothing less.
