Editorial | A way around traffic chaos

Scores of people are still talking about the traffic chaos they experienced on Sunday in St Ann, in the vicinity of the venue where the Buju/Beres concert pulled in thousands of patrons.

It was a good night for fans. From all accounts, they were fed a feast of scintillating music. Nearly two years of COVID-19 shutdown has seemingly opened the appetite for concerts and other entertainment events, so it was not surprising to learn that the event was sold out.

For all the people who derive benefits from the multimillion-dollar entertainment sector, the return to normalcy is highly welcomed. But organisers of entertainment events must take into account public safety concerns, and their activities ought not to inconvenience commuters and interrupt their normal routine.

If memories are not too short, many will recall that a similar traffic nightmare was experienced in April 2022 when an event was held at Pearly Beach near Ocho Rios, leaving members of the travelling public trapped in their vehicles for as many as six hours. The police later admitted at an emergency meeting that they were overwhelmed.

Given Sunday’s events, one can justly conclude that members of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch learned nothing from the April 2022 gridlock which affected areas such as Mammee Bay, St Ann’s Bay, Drax Hall and Priory. Concert-goers, general holiday traffic and other commuters suffered the nightmare together.

IGNORING PROBLEMS

Jamaicans have a way of ignoring problems and simply shrugging them off. It’s somehow easier to shove the matter under the carpet and avoid difficult conversations, with the expectation that the problem will be fixed. These problems then become classified as the proverbial ‘nine-days talk’ which are readily forgotten.

St Ann residents who suffered this punishment on Sunday might want to know what is being done by the authorities to ensure that the next time there is a major event the parish does not come to a standstill. Do the police review these events and apply problem-solving techniques in preparation for the next event? Were there traffic alerts to motorists? Were enough traffic police assigned to deal with the anticipated influx of concert-goers? Did they suggest that the organisers provide shuttles to the venue? All of these are pertinent questions in the aftermath of the messy situation that was created.

This got us thinking about the slew of unaddressed problems in this country which are seriously impacting our way of life. They range from the state of law and order, to ineffective garbage collection, to the inability to harness water resources, to corruption and lack of social justice, to a paucity of skill development opportunities, and to poverty and many other blights.

What is bad is, our two-party political system makes it nigh impossible to apply good problem-solving skills to any of the difficulties that have bedevilled us over decades. Both sides find it hard to agree on anything. Our policymakers must think about the best way to overcome these problems as we step into a new year, and we suggest that the spirit of corporation is necessary to achieve the best for the country.

We submit that a viable starting point is for municipalities to approach their jobs with greater urgency. Given the many benefits to be derived from the entertainment industry, we are not suggesting a shutdown, far from it. However, we urge the powers that be to balance traffic needs with public safety requirements. The organisers, the police and the municipalities must now look for solutions and agree on the way forward, before the next big event.