City planner says mass transport the key to reducing traffic gridlock

 

City Planner and Executive Director of Island City Lab, Dorraine Duncan, says a flaw in Jamaica's transportation planning is the main driver behind the chronic traffic gridlock affecting the Corporate Area.

 

Ms. Duncan is in agreement that there is an over-reliance on single occupant vehicles, and that mass transportation is essential to reducing congestion. 

 

During last week's meeting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee, Chief Executive Office of the National Works Agency (NWA), E.G. Hunter, was questioned whether poor coordination among planning authorities was contributing to the worsening traffic situation.

 

Mr. Hunter rejected this suggestion, noting that the higher volumes of traffic stem largely from the transport system built around private vehicles rather than mass transit.

 

Continuing the discussion Monday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica, Ms. Duncan said there is a need for more investment in shared transportation services, not on widening roads.

 

"So the way that we do policy and planning, policy informs the infrastructure, right? So where do we invest money, right? And so what you've been seeing over the past 10, 15 years is a policy that is focused on cars, individual people owning cars. And one of the examples of that is the amount of billions of dollars that we're spending on widening roads, right?.... But that in and of itself is not a success, that is not a solution to solving traffic. And I think if it was, we wouldn't be having this conversation and the conversation that happened at the PAAC a couple of days ago wouldn't have happened, right? So it's proven that it's not a solution itself. And so focusing on mass transportation, and funding and supporting JUTC, not just a couple of millions here and there, but advantaging JUTC is really essential to solving congestion," she suggested.

 

In the meantime, Stephen Shaw, Communications Manager at the National Works Agency, said the transportation arrangement in the Corporate Area is influenced by culture. 

 

Mr. Shaw, who was also a guest on TVJ's Smile Jamaica, said there is an aversion among the commuting

public to mass transit. 

 

"The issue is not singular. It is not just about driving motor vehicles and one person owning five cars and you hop, skip and jump out of whichever one you want to drive at a particular time. There are other issues at play, and to the extent that we can influence those, we do try. We don't have a likeness, really, for buses. If you leave Kingston and you go, let us say to Montego Bay, which is also congested, you find a lot of taxis. You don't find persons willing to take mass transport," he reasoned.

 

Mr. Shaw said the upgrading of roads to ease congestion is a viable solution that is recognised around the world. 

 

But Ms. Duncan argued that the apparent dislike for mass transportation is due to unreliability and poor quality of the service offered. 

 

"The reason why I keep on comparing the investment we are putting into something like widening roads, which we're still in traffic despite the fact that so many of these roads have been expanded, putting an investment like that, a really fundamental investment in public transportation can get you to a point where at 7:05, you know your bus is coming outside.... It looks like you can actually plan your life or own a schedule that is reliable, safe; it's protected, you can ensure that you're travelling on the weekends, you're travelling late at night, JUTC is available for you and it's not just a public transportation choice of last resort," she insisted.