A consequence of Urbanization : Traffic Congestion

A traffic congestion scene in Port of Spain picture by Nicola Mathura and Dianne Mahabir

Of all the consequences that arises with rapid urbanization, traffic congestion seems to be most prominent in everyday life as the public hustle and bustle to get to their job sites, schools and businesses occupied in the Port of Spain expanse.

 Dating back to 1968, there was the elimination of the Trinidad Government Railway system which facilitated the initiation of the bus and maxi services. Overtime, the gradual infrastructural development where highways were upgraded to dual passageways influenced the number of vehicles on the road. Such an implementation was geared towards solving the traffic congestion at the time but the issue is still prevalent today as seen in the image below in Port of Spain.

If the current road networks are upgraded it still does not take into account the number of vehicles on the road considering the fact that the population is increasing hence urban sprawl in the limited space of the Port-of-Spain urban area.

The Government has implemented some traffic restrictions for the State Funeral of the late Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson SC, OCC, TC – Former President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (TT News Flash, 2016). These include that roads should be closed on certain days and at specific times. Also police officers and traffic wardens reserve the right to the removal of unlawfully parked vehicles.

There temporary methods to alleviate transportation problems such as carpooling, building public transits an the evolution of technology as the problem of traffic congestion only worsens

When sitting in traffic, one usually becomes irritable and tired. It may even lead to a certain degree of road rage as people may become impatient and would simply like to be "on their way". Traffic congestion seems to be a major problem in certain areas in the capital city as most of the roads are one way. There are more negative attitudes than positive ones towards traffic. As you can see in the picture above , there is a yellow band maxi with passengers.Some may be socialising whilst complaining about the traffic build up while others may be on "edge" as time is being wasted in traffic for them. Another problem with traffic congestion for travellers is that are unable to estimate the time taken for them to reach their destination. It causes a delay in time which adds additional stress to commuters who are on their way to work and may reach late.

References:
 TT News Flash (2016). Retrieved April 4,2016, from http://ttnewsflash.com/