My Role, Your Role in Unlocking Traffic Gridlock in Lagos State
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 03/22/2011 09:48 AM
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My role, your role in unlocking traffic gridlock in Lagos state
Lagos has strict traffic regulations but the impunity with which it is flouted is legendary. The picture at Boundary, Ajegunle, a suburb of the city on any typical day tells the story; impatient commercial drivers racing against traffic on a one way lane; commercial motorcyclists and tricycle operators who carry more than the stipulated number of passengers competing with the bus drivers for right of way; and a throng of human traffic wading perilously amidst the bedlam. From their vantage position in the middle of the intersection, a handful of traffic police officers look helplessly at the anarchy.
Boundary is just one of the myriad spots in the city renowned for their traffic congestion and unruly driver behavior, especially during the evening rush hours. As the state government struggles to churn out policies expedient for a mega city, effective traffic management has always been a recurring problem.
During the 1st Lagos Traffic Management Conference tagged, ‘Unlocking the Gridlock: Keep Lagos Moving with Pride,' organized by the Ministry of Transportation in March this year; Hirsh Moshe, a former Minister of Transportation in Israel, disclosed that residents in the state lose three billion hours to traffic congestion annually. According to him, that time, if reduced by 20 per cent, would save the state at least ₦150 billion every year.
"We have issues like low capacity at intersections, traffic signals which are not efficient enough, illegal parking, encroachment activities like bus parks and trailers. We also have non-recurrent events like traffic accidents, road works, bad weather and driver behaviour," said Mr Moshe, who carried out a study on the perennial traffic situation in Lagos.
To nip the chaotic traffic situation within the metropolis in the bud, the state government established the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in July 2000 to regulate, control, and manage...
Lagos has strict traffic regulations but the impunity with which it is flouted is legendary. The picture at Boundary, Ajegunle, a suburb of the city on any typical day tells the story; impatient commercial drivers racing against traffic on a one way lane; commercial motorcyclists and tricycle operators who carry more than the stipulated number of passengers competing with the bus drivers for right of way; and a throng of human traffic wading perilously amidst the bedlam. From their vantage position in the middle of the intersection, a handful of traffic police officers look helplessly at the anarchy.
Boundary is just one of the myriad spots in the city renowned for their traffic congestion and unruly driver behavior, especially during the evening rush hours. As the state government struggles to churn out policies expedient for a mega city, effective traffic management has always been a recurring problem.
During the 1st Lagos Traffic Management Conference tagged, ‘Unlocking the Gridlock: Keep Lagos Moving with Pride,' organized by the Ministry of Transportation in March this year; Hirsh Moshe, a former Minister of Transportation in Israel, disclosed that residents in the state lose three billion hours to traffic congestion annually. According to him, that time, if reduced by 20 per cent, would save the state at least ₦150 billion every year.
"We have issues like low capacity at intersections, traffic signals which are not efficient enough, illegal parking, encroachment activities like bus parks and trailers. We also have non-recurrent events like traffic accidents, road works, bad weather and driver behaviour," said Mr Moshe, who carried out a study on the perennial traffic situation in Lagos.
To nip the chaotic traffic situation within the metropolis in the bud, the state government established the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in July 2000 to regulate, control, and manage...