Cascade traffic increasing

THE EDITOR: With the reopening of schools in September, a marked increase in vehicular traffic has been experienced on a daily basis during the morning and afternoon in the St Ann’s/Cascade area. The traffic very often extends from the Bishops Junior School on Ariapita Road to the St Ann’s Roundabout. The reasons for this problem are twofold, one being the increase in the number of private schools in the area and the other being the number of town houses that have been constructed in Cascade. It has been observed that motorists proceeding out of Coblentz Avenue no longer observe the law that St Ann’s Road is a major road and they form a lane on the extreme left while those proceeding out of St Ann’s occupy a position on their right.

Thus two lanes of traffic approach the St Ann’s Roundabout simultaneously. Although this helps to alleviate the problem in some way it is illegal and so overzealous policemen from the Police Post near Queens’ Hall, very often, channel the two lanes back into one lane resulting in a bottleneck on the approach to the roundabout. I wish to offer some possible solutions with the hope that in the New Year 2005, a better flow of traffic will be experienced. It has been noted that most parents transport one child to their particular school. It would help if they practise car-pooling, whereby they may alternate on a daily basis thus saving gas, wear and tear on vehicles as well as time.

Alternatively, they may arrange to have a shuttle service operating from the zoo pavilion (near the Emperor Valley Zoo) or Princess Building grounds, especially those going to Bishops Junior School where the roadway is quite narrow with no pavements for pedestrians. Finally the single lane on St Ann’s Road from its junction with Coblentz Avenue proceeding south to the St Ann’s Roundabout should be made a dual lane from 6 am to 9 am and 2 pm to 5 pm during weekdays permanently and not left to the discretion of the Police. I have no doubt that these suggestions if implemented will go a long way in easing the daily frustrations of the motorists who use these roads, including the parents. I hope that all concerned will give it the consideration it deserves.

CHARLES TELOKA
St Ann’s