Road Rage in the Bahamas

by Larry Smith

Today I'd like to indulge in a little road rage.

Over the past eight years I've been riding a bicycle for both exercise and enjoyment. Not competitive cycling, I hasten to confirm, just casual bike riding.

For a long time I was able to ride from Fox Hill Road to my office near St Matthew's Church. I was able to do this a couple of times a week, just outside the peak traffic hours, without much risk. I was also able to ride downtown on Sundays and holidays with no hassle at all.

But lately the traffic situation has become so chaotic that it is too dangerous (for me anyway). And that applies to most routes, most times of the day, and all week long. I truly sympathise with those who are forced to ride to work through all kinds of traffic conditions.

Besides the crowded intersections, there are two principal road hazards today: speeders and idiots (you know, the kind who think nothing of passing within inches of you - whether by design or stupidity - as if you simply didn't exist).

And even during non-peak times in relatively quiet residential districts, the number of speeders has increased noticeably, along with the rate at which they travel. My guess is that this is a function of the frustration most drivers are faced with today. Whenever a relatively open road appears, we take advantage of the luxury by putting the pedal to the metal.

The rising number of idiot drivers is probably due to the fact that there are more young people driving today, coupled with less enforcement of traffic rules. The risks and inconveniences they cause are not exclusive to cyclists; they are multiplying and intensifying for all road users on New Providence.

Then there are the afternoon shift changes at Atlantis, when streams of vehicles exit PI over a single bridge, producing long-term stalls for west-east drivers on Bay Street as police override signals to prevent gridlock on the island. And don't forget the jitneys that jockey to get ahead of everyone else by any means possible. You never know from which direction they are coming - behind you, toward you or sideways.

In the heavily-populated Eastern district, the afternoon rush hour now extends from 3-7pm, as thousands of parents forsake work and trek to the various schools to pick up their little darlings. School traffic then merges with going home traffic. There''s hardly any point in returning to work anyway. Meanwhile, heavily loaded trucks barrel down our narrow city roadways at breakneck speed, secure in the knowledge that no-one will challenge their right of way.

And the slightest out-of-the-ordinary circumstance - a pot hole, a stalled car or just a puddle of water - can have devastating repercussions. Only last week traffic into and out of town from the east (where perhaps a quarter of the island's population lives) was backed up for hours on consecutive days because fender benders had closed off one lane of a two-lane artery.

A simple matter to remedy, one would think. But not in the Bahamas, where simple matters are magnified into colossal problems because no-one gives a damn...since there are no consequences for irrational behaviour anyway. And don't even think about retaliating either in word, gesture or deed - you may find yourself on the wrong end of a fatal road rage dispute.

A case in point occurred last week, when some guy (for no reason at all) smashed my daughter's rear windshield with a rock while she was driving in broad daylight on West Bay Street. Road rage is not something to take lightly in this town - even if you are entirely in the right. As one middle-aged friend put it: "Our abandonment of core social values - respect for others and personal integrity - is glaringly evident on the roads of New Providence.

"Traffic lights and speed signs are ignored; drivers barge in from side roads onto main thoroughfares with indifference; and litter is discharged from vehicles with impunity. Then there are the tinted windshields, derelict vehicles, uninsured drivers, noxious fumes, jitney terror - the list is overwhelming. If we don't fix the leaks soon, the dam will collapse!"

To help employees cope, my company - Media Enterprises - recently adjusted working hours to run from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. But it provides little relief, since the so-called rush hour now extends for most of the day and into the night, particularly if you have to pass through one of several traffic choke points at the edge of town (such as the notorious Montagu junction). And it will only get worse because experts say traffic volume is growing by 3 per cent a year, and it's unlikely that radical action will be taken to fix things.

As for the Montagu junction itself, that is the most glaring example of stupidity one could possibly imagine. A complex arterial intersection in the middle of a commercial boat ramp, street market and public park. Successive governments have ignored the problem - which is the cause of endless traffic delays and frequent accidents. A parliamentary committee recommended solutions more than a year ago, but nothing has been done to implement them.

In some American cities experts say frustration over growing road congestion is leading more people to use public transit, move closer to their jobs, telecommute or make other lifestyle changes. in other words, people are making rational choices about what's best for them - and being stuck in traffic for hours each day is not one of them.

In the Bahamas, our choices are limited. More often than not we can't move closer to our jobs because there is no residential space near commercial areas. Telecommuting requires a certain type of work as well as a certain type of mindset as well as full computer literacy. And public transit in Nassau is so unsafe, uncomfortable and unreliable that no-one with access to a car will use it regularly.

These issues, and others, were addressed last year in a Congestion Reduction Study undertaken by a Barcelona-based firm called Advanced Logistics Group. These consultants produced a strategic plan which offers a series of short- middle- and long-term policy measures "targeted at achieving changes in travel behaviour and travel patterns" on New Providence.

They say that implementation of this plan could reduce peak-hour traffic congestion by more than half, realising a yearly cost savings of more than $1.3 million from the morning commute alone. The cost of delays due to traffic congestion was calculated by assigning a dollar value to the time wasted based on household income statistics. But it doesn't include the immediate and indirect costs of fuel and wear and tear on vehicles, not to mention lost serenity, family time and civic engagement.

However, the key to our salvation involves a radical overhaul of our public transport system to make it a "viable and attractive option". And I think that key has already broken off in the lock, since we are nowhere nearer to setting up an improved and unified bus system in Nassau than we were when the idea was first mooted by former transport minister Glenys Hanna-Martin four years ago.

The congestion reduction plan's short-term measures call for renewal of the bus fleet, building park and ride sites at the edge of town as well as parking garages in strategic areas, optimising the island's 68 signalised intersections, creating reversible road lanes and bus-only lanes, enforcing paid on-street parking, turning Bay Street into a pedestrian zone, promoting carpooling and a setting up a more stringent and expensive vehicle licensing and inspection regime.

I note with interest that the plan does call for investment in bicycle/pedestrian lanes and paths, along with bike lockers at major public transit stops (although they would have to feature military security measures). Park and ride stops are suggested for JFK Drive, Soldier Road, Arawak Cay, Montagu and Prince Charles Drive. Permanent and exclusive bus lanes are recommended for Blue Hill Road and Market Street from Robinson to Bay.

Other measures include getting workplaces to introduce flex-time, requiring traffic impact studies for new developments, excluding freight transport from designated zones and phasing in a system of road fees - meaning charging motorists to drive in certain areas.

Longer term recommendations include privatisation of the unified bus system (which doesn't yet exist), water taxi services from downtown to PI and Cable Beach, a new bridge to Paradise Island from Arawak Cay, and building the fabled container port at Clifton.

The plan also calls for strict regulation of freight transport to reduce its impact on road congestion. These proposals include tougher licensing for drivers and vehicles, designated freight routes and times, and introduction of a road wear tax. In the short term, freight transport would be heavily restricted downtown and on Paradise Island. In the longer term, warehousing would be confined to outlying areas along Harrold Road, Prince Charles and Cowpen Road, with goods arriving at Clifton and travelling along the newly diverted Adelaide Road to Cowpen.

Now this all sounds perfectly sane and straightforward on paper - but what happens when you consider the reality on the ground? For example, successive hard-mouth governments have not had the spunk to deal with relatively minor and contained issues like controlling the vendors, mail boats and ferry boats at Potters Cay; rationalising Montagu; moving the jitneys off Bay Street; regulating freight haulage and enforcing traffic rules generally.

The official track record so far doesn't give much hope for the future. We certainly couldn't imagine the indecisive Christie administration implementing anything on this scale. And for the new Ingraham administration, the plan suffers from its origins during the Christie government. It's a vicious circle.

Perhaps the best course would be to pick a demonstration project and implement it fully. Now, should that be Bay Street, Potters Cay, Arawak Cay or perhaps Montagu?

Well, we know there are some 8,000 workers concentrated on Paradise Island, and we know where they are coming from every day and where they are going every day. And we have a single large entity to deal with. Why don't we start there?

Comments

[Christopher Armaly]

Finally someone has the #$%& to say something publicly about the traffic idiocy and apathetic government response. Something I truly commend you on.

The solution is yes so simple, however politically there will be no relief in sight. Just a few changes would make the commute less a chore than he frustrations of today:

1) Why are there so many cars per house? A limit of 2 per household is sufficient. 50% duty first car, 70% duty 2nd car and anything more is a minimum of 250% duty. Don't tell me it can't be done. Barbados starts at 200% duty on cars!

2) Why is the duty on scooters more than cars? It should be eliminated, period. And no I do not mean Ninja 2000 etc. I am talking anything up to 100cc and once again anything over 200%+ duty or ban them altogether. The police on national radio has already confirmed that they are not chasing these big bikes as it is too dangerous…what and idiot thing to say publicly! The issue with scooter is that if everyone bought one the government and oil companies wouldn't make nearly enough revenue, therefore this option has been killed.

3) Montague ramp- enough said, the solution is already there but it is not utilized. Once again, idiots.

4) Johnson Road intersection- The solution is quite simple, especially the commute home. Whether by eminent domain or other means, property need to be acquired north of eastern road (say only 20') by say a 70' length. This would enable a turning lane for say 7-10 cars turning into Johnson Road and the cars traveling east can continue flowing smoothly hence reducing congestion all the way back to the Montague Ramp westward. Perhaps an incentive of 20 years property tax exemption for the homes the acquisition of property is made on will help make thing work a little more amicably.

5) You discuss the situation east, however the west is not immune and I have found that out myself over the past year. There are fewer roads coming into town and the main one is two way. At least Shirley Street is one way into town. This is not to minimize the east's problem, however bear in mind there are several thousand units coming online in the west shortly. Charlottesville, West Winds, Love Beach, Final Phases of Sandyport, South Ocean, Indigo, Saffron Hill, Jacaranda, Munnings Road etc. etc. are just a few.! Can you imagine each of those homes popping up having "x" amount of cars.

I can go on and on, but as I look outside my office the traffic is bumper to bumper and a normal 10 minute ride will take 40 minutes. Will speak later. Once again I always enjoy your articles, even the ones we disagree on.

[EB Christen]

As always, you nailed it Larry. However, you omitted one thing.

The Prison Bus. I have come to view the Prison Bus as the symbol for all that is wrong in our Bahamaland. If ever there was a simple problem to fix - it is the prison bus, yet we continue to bus prisoners in and out of town during peak traffic hours. If we can't get the prison bus farce right, then there is no hope...

I have said this before. Common sense Bahamians know exactly how to fix many of the major issues facing the country, but somehow there is simply NO POLITICAL WILL in parliament to actually address the issues.

I believe that the FNM will probably rule better than the PLP did, but it isn't enough. The bar must be raised on BOTH parties. We need a lot more than just bureaucratic and ponderous thinking. We need a solid vision and the political will to get there with both the government and the opposition genuinely striving for that vision and the only litmus test between them being who delivers it better, faster, more efficiently, with the least corruption and with the least burden to the Bahamian tax payer.

Until Bahamians start believing in a 'common good' and 'public order' there is very little that will be done. Right now, I just see people in power and in government going 'MINE, MINE, MINE' like kids fighting over toys. Pathetic!

GROW UP BAHAMALAND!

[Erik Russell]

May I suggest that your title should read, "Road rage in NASSAU"? :)

Cruisin' in Grand Bahama...

~ejr~

[Bob Knaus]

You need a parliamentary committee to solve traffic problems at particular intersections??? That's your problem, right there. Transportation is way too politicized, and politicized at the wrong level. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, that's exactly why Nassau needs a municipal government, separate from parliament. Let a local and frequently elected government handle local issues.

Slapping heavy duties on cars will do little to address the problem. Instead of watching Bahamian lobster boats get loaded down with golf carts and freezers to evade duty, I'd watch them get loaded down with cars. Yes, there are two of them at the marina now, replaced the one that left last week.

OK, that's all, my rant is over :-)

[larry smith]

Good point about parliament having to deal with a traffic intersection. But even then, they don't deal with it.

[Road Runner]

This is how it is.
The shortest time between points A and B can only be achieved in Nassau by traveling the longest, most retarded, out of your way, traffic-avoiding, gas-guzzling route possible....and at a very high speed.

[Road Runner]

It's crazy Idea time again kids! Gather around!

Every paid parking lot in the downtown area should have a 2 or 4 story tall parking complex built on top of it. The owners of the land REMAIN THE OWNERS, the government pays for building everything and takes about 15% of the profits from the parking complex.

More Bahamian companies need to start renting Segways. There's already a couple foreigners who are doing it and making good cash.

There must be a P.I. Bus system that covers Bay St., Shirley St. and takes people over the bridge.

That large lot across from Montague beach where that old hotel used to be needs to be made into a 6 story tall parking complex for P.I. employees only. Then there needs to be a boat to ferry P.I. employees from P.I. to Montague. That would cut at least 2 hours off their commute home.

Probably should do the same thing near Arawak cay and have a boat to ferry people there as well.

On Harrold road they need to cut huge chunks out of the sidewalk and median so people can have a safe place to pull over when their car breaks down or they need to change a flat. This will also keep traffic from getting held up by 1 stopped car.

Ever heard the term "paving the cow paths"? There are a lot of unpaved shortcuts that people take during rush hour. If just 2 or 3 of there were made inaccessible traffic would become EXTREMELY worse IMMEDIATELY. These paths need to be discovered, evaluated, bought by the government and made into proper roadways ASAP.

Then there are lots of different areas that are separated from each other for no good reason. For example, if you go to maps.google.com and examine where Nassau Village is separated from Sea Breeze or the area behind Prince charles shopping centre you'll see that there are many places where you could cut a road here and there and connect it all. It makes no sense that I can walk to KFC faster than I can drive there because of traffic.

[drew Roberts]

"Then there are lots of different areas that are separated from each other for no good reason."

I know what you are saying and I agree, but let us not gloss over the fact that there is indeed a good reason and that is crime. And there is another reasonable reason and that is people want neighbourhood streets to stay neighbourhood streets and not become highways.

all the best,

drew

[nicob]

Hear, hear, Larry. I used to cycle -- in BC and in Cambridge, which is far more congested for cars than Nassau is, if you can imagine, having a good thousand years of settlement's headstart, roads that were built to accommodate cattle carts, and ancient buildings that cannot be knocked down and replaced. Still, there are good bicycle routes and strict traffic controls, and park-and-ride arrangements for the city centre and shopping lots.

I stopped cycling when I came home. I have a healthy respect for my limbs, something that drivers don't appear to share. There is only one day of the week I can imagine cycling in vague safety -- Sunday mornings between 9 and 2, when most cars are parked either in church parking lots, while their owners are in church, or in driveways, while their owners sleep off the effects of their drinking the night before.

Of course that would necessitate becoming a practising heathen and renouncing my citizenship in the process.

Hmm.

[Jeff Albury]

I read this article with interest, and I totally agree with your position. However, I have a few questions:

1. There are a lot of driving schools in Nassau. What are the qualifications to teach someone to drive? Or is it only to be in possession of an "L" plate.
2. What are the qualifications of the testers at Road Traffic?
3. Do persons actually take a test for a driver's license these days, or do the majority of people just go and "buy" their license?

It's all about standards, Larry, and in the Bahamas we have none.

[Gordon Boyd]

So hundreds maybe thousands of Atlantis employees spill across the bridge towards that expensive traffic control system at Shirley/ Mackey Street, This to my mind has been such a waste of both public and Sol money, as we now have a Traffic policeman posted on the East Bay lights giving even more preference to the bridge traffic, much to the chagrin of traffic heading East. Can’t he see that East bound bridge traffic from the slip road and the Jitney drivers refusal to use the bus stop completely blocks both lanes heading East. Surely his time could be better spent issuing speeding tickets or pulling over Jitneys for any of the numerous infringements they commit every 10 seconds or less of driving, or the DWCUS (Driving Whilst Completely Unaware of your Surroundings) offenders.

Yes Larry I agree with you, let’s start with a system for Atlantis rather than try to prioritize their speedy car exodus from PI.