Independent August 08, 2000
By Raffique Shah
A FRIEND of mine, Chaguanas bred and born, telephoned me early one morning last week, and with an audible cackle, asked me: "You hear dey re-Christen the Mayor?" From his tone of voice and bearing in mind the absolute chaos that reigned in the Central borough ever since Mayor Orlando Nagassar introduced his new traffic plan, I suspected he was about to unleash a typical Chaguanas joke at the Mayor's expense. "What's his new name?" I asked. "De fellas calling him 'Oh-lhand-oh' Nagassar," he replied, bursting into a loud guffaw. From my little knowledge of Hindi and my decades-long friendship with "de fellas" from Chaguanas and surrounding districts, I, too, burst into laughter. If readers want to get the joke, they need to find someone who has a rudimentary knowledge of Hindi, since its literal translation into English might offend the sensitivities of prudes.
Suffice it to say I was not in the least surprised that "de fellas", that bunch of dyed-in-the-cane rascals who were born in or around the borough, schooled there, and never left the town or its environs for upscale pastures (they created their own-Lange Park, Ramsaran Park, Orchard Gardens, etc.), always had a tremendous sense of humour. They had to. Growing up in most cases in abject poverty, and having to claw their way up the professional or business ladder against immeasurable odds, they have learnt to laugh at themselves, at each other, but most of all at the "Orlandos-come-lately", the new faces that pop up in the political arena who know little of its history, understand even less of its culture, but pretend to have the solutions to all its problems.
The Mayor's new traffic plan was, and it will continue to be, an unmitigated disaster. No traffic plan will ease the congestion in the heart of the borough and nearby Montrose, except, of course, if one were to prohibit all vehicles (except delivery trucks and other essential vehicles) from entering the town-centre. That is clearly not an option. What could be done is to institute some measures to minimise the inconvenience motorists suffer once they venture into it, and to make the lives of both commuters and public transport providers a little less than sheer hell. Because the root cause of the permanent logjam that is Chaguanas is not its roads and streets, but its unplanned growth.
That did not start under Mayor Nagassar's stewardship, although he must face flak for some of the more recent gaffes. Ever since the Solomon Hochoy Highway was built back in 1973 or thereabout, it triggered the rapid expansion of Chaguanas (which travelers between the North and South could easily access) and the equally rapid decline of Couva. If you ever wondered why Couva, which was a thriving commercial and residential town back in the 1960s, and which would later see the biggest industrial estate in the Caribbean sited next door at Point Lisas, has shrunk when compared with Chaguanas, the answer lies in the Hochoy Highway. Whereas one simply slips from that highway into Chaguanas (well, it's not that simple, not with the traffic horrors you have to face), one has to divert some six kilometers to get to Couva.
But back to Chaguanas and the root causes of the massive traffic jams that have come to characterise the town. I made reference to what seems to be unplanned development. Orchard Gardens, for example, built by a developer adjacent to my old alma mater, Presentation College, was, until the recent opening of the Mulchan Seuchan Road, a trap for its residents: they had to enter or exit the area through the heart of Chaguanas. Meanwhile, all along the Caroni Savannah Road, businesses and small industries sprang up. In Montrose, residential properties gave way to commercial enterprises, with absolutely no consideration for parking facilities.
The worst and latest disasters, though, were the establishment of a number of huge commercial enterprises in the vicinity of the Endeavour flyover. Price Smart was given permission to build its massive warehouse immediately next to the flyover. On the other side is yet another big supermarket, Food Basket. And along the road that links the flyover with Caroni Savannah Road is the expansive Medford Quick Shoppe. I need add that the once sleepy Endeavour village has been transformed into a bustling little town, and to add to that flyover's woes, both Lange Park and Orchard Gardens' residents use it to access the highway. Oh, and there is still to come some twin-towers or twin-pillars (well, when I look at the size of the land on which they are to be built, I can't see anything more than pillars there!), also very close to the flyover.
It was clear for anyone with a modicum of sense to see that so many businesses in that vicinity would create traffic havoc. The Divali Nagar site is within spitting distance of Price Smart. Those who have experienced the traffic horrors that occur when the annual festival is held at the Nagar-traffic literally backed up on the highway, vehicles parked on its shoulders-can only imagine with increased trepidation what would happen when Divali comes around in another two months. So by granting building permission carte blanche, Mayor Orlando (I shall be nice to the man) and his predecessors have helped create the chaos that reigns in the borough.
I don't know that any traffic plan, however ambitious (I'm thinking of John Humphrey's elevated flyover, which might cause some motorists to literally fly from atop to the bottom!), that will solve the dilemma. I think the first reality that the mayor and all those involved in "reforming" Chaguanas need to understand is that at the core, the borough had its roots as a "market town", and it will always remain that way. That's it's lure to people from nearby and afar-bargains in the many shops and at the hundreds of vendors who occupy the main road from top to bottom. To attempt to change that will be to alter the character of Chaguanas, and worst than that, to kill its spirit. In fact, although the new market will be welcomed by both shoppers and vendors, it will not mean the end of vending on the streets.
That being a given, what the Mayor and his aides achieved by their new traffic plan was to turn a bad situation into unmitigated chaos. If they simply revert to the old system, it would be better than what they are trying to do. Proper policing (Orlando may need to plug for a sizeable Borough Police unit) of the main traffic points, especially at peak hours, will help. And I don't think anyone will have problems with the police coming down hard on maxi-taxi operators and "PH" drivers who openly flout the law, pulling up in the middle of the main road or side streets to pick up passengers.
One final piece of advice, and this to my fellow-citizens who visit the borough on a regular basis: learn to walk, nah! I never drive into the heart of Chaguanas. I park at one end or other (hell, the town is no more than one kilometer from east to west), and proceed to walk to conduct whatever business I need to do. It's less stressful than being stuck in traffic for hours, and much healthier on the body-and mind. If we had not "evolved" into a bunch of lazy people who refuse to walk a few metres, who expect to drive, or be driven, from home to shop or market, traffic in Chaguanas may not have reached the crisis level it has. So even as people heap abuse on "Oh-Lhand-Oh", they must accept that they, too, are part of the problem.
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Copyright © Raffique Shah
