MoBay gets nod

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

The drive against Montego Bay's long-standing traffic problems took another right turn last Friday with the installation of three traffic lights at key areas in the tourist city.

Commissioned by the National Works Agency (NWA), the lights were placed at Flankers, Sugar Mill Road and Greenwood, all located on the outskirts of Montego Bay.

"We set them up based on the traffic volume into the city," said Janel Ricketts, the NWA's communications relations officer for the western region.

12 traffic lights

This brings the number of traffic lights in Montego Bay to 12 and continues the NWA's campaign to ensure a steady vehicular stream through the city's clogged roadways. Ricketts told Automotives that the government agency launched its traffic buster project last year after calls from frustrated motorists.

"Since then, we have seen a marked improvement in traffic flow in Montego Bay. Many people have told us this," Ricketts said.

Compared to chief towns in other parishes, Montego Bay's roads are notoriously small. Commerce in Montego Bay has picked up considerably during the last 30 years, largely through the jump in tourism. With it has

come a traffic snarl that rivals downtown Kingston, especially as it approaches business peak in early afternoon, and at rush hour.

The traffic problems are compounded by the presence of unregulated vendors who sell on the streets, particularly in the Barnett Street area.

Challenge for cops

Like their counterparts in central and west Kingston, this is a major challenge for police in the Second City.

"They (vendors) play a cat-and-mouse game with the police, when they see us coming they run away," said superintendent Merrick Watson, who heads the St James police division.

Watson said teams from the Island Special Constabulary Force are working with officers from the St James parish council to arrest offenders, but the problem persists. He added that unchecked traffic has also opened the way for 'opportunistic crime' usually comes in the form of pickpockets and touts.

Traffic congestion is a growing problem in Jamaica's commercial areas.

Spanish Town, St Catherine, May Pen, Clarendon and Mandeville, Manchester have experienced problems similar to Kingston and Montego Bay.