Public Works, GPF implement measures to control movement of minibuses at Stabroek Market tarmac
Putting in place the concrete columns to prevent buses from breaching their lanes, as drivers look on
Putting in place the concrete columns to prevent buses from breaching their lanes, as drivers look on

POLICE ‘A’ Division Traffic Department, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works, yesterday aggressively moved to end the congestion and lawlessness pervasive among minibus operators who park in the Stabroek Market area by placing concrete columns between buses for every route.

The two agencies have placed four 40-foot concrete columns in front of the Stabroek Market in the parking tarmac used by the routes 41, 45 and 46 minibuses, to regulate their movement while in the park, and to serve to ease the congestion and confusion often associated with unsupervised and unregulated movement.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle at the location after the newly installed parking arrangements, ‘A’ Division Traffic Chief, Superintendent Calvin Brutus, related that the move was taken after the police saw the need to bring some amount of sanity to what was going on at that Stabroek Market area.

He said the move is a form of regularising of the parking system for the routes 41, 45 and 46 buses; and pointed out that, in the past, there was no proper usage of the space made available to the buses, and there was no proper entry and exit system into the park.

Supt. Brutus said the concrete columns will replace traffic lines which were previously placed to guide the drivers in regard to where and how they should park, because the drivers never heeded those guidelines, and that had caused the system of boarding and disembarking the buses to be thrown into total chaos, with passengers themselves being frustrated.

The system of loading passengers will be similar to what obtains at the Kitty and Sophia bus parks, and drivers would be restricted in their movements, and would have to be confined between the concrete columns once they enter the bus park. Thus there will be no room for ‘boring’ (line jumping) by drivers.

The new system is expected to accommodate a maximum of approximately forty buses between the three routes. This does not represent the full complement of buses plying the three routes, the Superintendent explained, hence a system has been devised: When the park is filled to capacity, minibuses seeking to off-load passengers would be allowed to do so on the outskirts of the immediate parking area; but they would not be allowed to pick up passengers from that location, since the area would be demarcated a no parking/stopping area.

After offloading passengers, the buses would proceed to seek parking opposite the Parliament Buildings, once parking spaces are available; or they can use the area along the Avenue of the Republic.

Superintendent Brutus explained that a zero tolerance approach would be used on operators using the areas as pickup points for passengers.

All boarding of passengers must be done in the bus parks, the Traffic Officer explained. Brutus said there will be strict enforcement of the new regulation, and drivers who flout the regulation and add to the confusion at the Stabroek Market area will be arrested and charged.

The Route 45 minibus will be entering the park from the southern section of the tarmac, in front of the Stabroek Clock, and will be exiting on the northern section of Water Street. Those buses will be moving through two of the concrete columns, one will be for direct exit from the parking area, while the other will be used for buses which are desirous of remaining in the park until they are filed.
The routes 46 and 41 will, however, be entering the park from the northern section and exiting on the southern end. There will be a total of six lanes for the two directions, with each direction employing three lanes.

Minibus operators plying routes 41, 45 and 46 are seeing the new parking arrangement as a mixed blessing, following the decision of the ‘A’ Division Traffic Department and the Ministry of Public Works to regularise parking on the Stabroek Market tarmac.

The arrangement was widely supported by the operators plying the South, Lodge and Lamaha and Georgetown Public Hospital routes. However, those plying the Guyhoc route are calling for a special lane to be designated for them, since they, like the buses travelling to South, both share the 41 number and there is some amount of confusion there.

Some of the Route 45 operators are, however, calling for implementation of a turn system or a numbering system when it comes to loading passengers. They are claiming that when the arrangement was put in place on Tuesday, the intention was that two exit lanes would lead into Water Street from the parking area.
Written By Asif  Hakim

 

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