San F'do traffic changes scuttled

LESS than 48 hours after a new traffic arrangement was put into effect on October 1, making the area from Short Street to Library Corner on the Pointe-a-Pierre Road one way, the plan has been scuttled.

The arrangement directly affected students and staff going to Naparima Girls’ High School from Pointee-a-Pierre Road, so several hundreds of cars had to go along High Street, and up La Pique Hill. This resulted in a chaotic situation, as the school gate at the La Pique Hill entrance was closed to traffic at 8 am, and parents dropping off their children as well as hired cars transporting students had to turn in a small space near the old postal service building.

This caused a backlog of traffic which crossed Pointe-a-Pierre Road and extended into upper High Street.

Some children rgot to school late on Wednesday morning, and as a result lost their commendation marks for punctuality.

Many children did not go to school on Tuesday, when the traffic arrangement went into effect, as Naparima Girls’ staff supported the call by the TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) to protest that day in Port of Spain for negotiations for outstanding collective agreement periods.

Even though the plan had been announced, parents and staff were taken by surprise, as the plan did not flow smoothly. By Wednesday afternoon a meeting had been arranged at the girls' school among the principal, Carolyn Bally-Gosine, the Parents Action Committee (PAC) headed by Dr Afraz Ali, San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello, Traffic Management and the police.

During the meeting it was agreed adjustments would be made from October 3, and only private cars would be allowed to continue on the Pointe-a-Pierre Road beyond Short Street. Private vehicles will have the option to use Short Street, but entry will be denied to goods vehicles and taxis, which will have to get onto High Street via either St James Street or Short Street.

Regrello said the decisions were taken around 3 pm on Wednesday, and between today
THURS and Friday signs indicating the changes would be put at the relevant points.

The meeting also discussed creating a loop so that cars going to the school would go in one way and go out the other way, but Regrello said this was challenging because of the volume of traffic, so the two entrances remain open to two-way traffic.

“Our objective is to be solution-oriented and to give people options and minimise the congestion. It is a very tight area and you have a corner where six streets more or less converge, and then you have so many persons coming in. It’s also a central hub, and then you have a high school right in the area. It’s a very peculiar scenario, so we have to be very creative in how we treat with that.”

Concrete barriers which had been placed on Pointe-a-Pierre Road and lower Coffee Street to deter taxis from parking near the corner of Royal Castle and KFC on the opposite side at the La Romaine taxi stands have also been moved to provide a little more space.

“It is a work in progress, and we will continue to monitor the situation,” Regrello said.