Chaguanas traffic meeting postponed

An emergency meeting to discuss traffic arrangements for Chaguanas in the face of several concurrent events over the next few days has been moved back one day.

Initially anticipated to be hosted on October 22, the stakeholder meeting will now occur on October 23, according to Chaguanas mayor Faaiq Mohammed.

"After careful co-ordination and considering the schedules of all involved, the earliest available date when every party can attend is on Wednesday. "This timing ensures that everyone can be present without any conflicts, allowing for full participation and productive discussions. We appreciate everyone’s flexibility in making this arrangement possible and look forward to having all voices represented on that day."

The Ministry of Works and Transport Traffic Management Division, traffic wardens, the police, and the borough's municipal police are expected to be a part of the meeting.

In a previous statement to Newsday, Mohammed said the goal of the meeting was to devise a plan to prevent motorists from enduring long hours in traffic, particularly during peak times.

"The plan will involve deploying additional wardens at key points and enhancing the police presence to manage real-time traffic flow. Through this collaboration, we aim to minimize delays, ease congestion, and improve the overall driving experience, ensuring smoother, safer commutes throughout our borough during this busy season."

The area has heavy traffic under normal circumstances and stakeholders fear a visiting circus (October 18-27), the Divali Nagar celebrations (October 22-30), month-end shopping and banking and the ongoing widening works to the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway would create a perfect nightmare for the commuting public.

Motorists have already complained the delayed, but ongoing, work on the highway has added at least an additional hour to their daily commutes.

The project was carded for completion on August 24 but was extended according to Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan after the contractor failed to meet quality control standards.

While Newsday was unable to get comments from Sinanan, he revealed in the Senate on October 21 that night works would be discontinued until after Divali to help alleviate congestion. Divali is on October 31.