SO I'M sitting in traffic on Oxford Road doing my crossword, occasionally looking up to see if I can move forward. Every opening except one on the right has a no entry between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. I'm trapped. I try a little meditation and enlightenment strikes me between the eyes. Actually it was a vehicle with headlights on in the afternoon. Must have been a European model. The thought occurred to me that I wouldn't have been blinded if he was going in the same direction. Boing!!!!!.
What if we were all going in the same direction. Boing!! Again. What if Oxford Road was a one-way road, as part of a massive one-way ring road around New Kingston.
The route would make more sense I think if it ran along Oxford, Old Hope roads, Lady Musgrave, Trafalgar, then down Ruthven or Holborn onto Half-way Tree Road and back onto Oxford, in a counter clockwise direction. Four lanes of traffic; in most cases, three and two for some. No traffic lights and only slip roads. And of course free up that very bizarre, confusing and ultimately frustrating dead end system in Eastern New Kingston.
A longer journey for some at different times but no jam ups and free flowing. There would be a minimum of adjustments to make a few slip roads, which would only allow filtering. This would actually be copying what is already standard procedure in many countries in providing a ring road around major centres. Larger arteries that are fed from or feed into smaller ones. It will of course be necessary to make sure that the feed roads have the adequate lane to facilitate the slip road.
As I examine this more, I thought why not include the bottom of Hope Road as well and clear up the congestion at Half-Way Tree. Admittedly I haven't worked out everything, but hey I'm paid to write articles not do the city planners work. Mind you I honestly don't think they experience the worst of the traffic. Have you ever called a planning office. Every one knows that you should not call before nine thirty, between twelve and two and forget it after three thirty. No one is there between those hours. Where are they? Avoiding the traffic I think, like Doctor Frankenstien running from his monstrous creation.
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