(CMR) A Thursday evening meeting raising concerns about the pending changes to the Grand Harbour roundabout left residents with some hope that it could be reversed after National Roads Managing Director Edward Howard assured them the matter would be taken back to the board for reconsideration.
In what is seen as a peculiar outcome, exclusive sources revealed to CMR that the board had made the unanimous decision some time ago with the full support of the ministry.
It remains to be seen what the final outcome will be, but the Minister of Roads, Jay Ebanks, appears to have conceded that he would be willing to support the project being delayed despite NRA pressing that the decision was made because of ongoing concerns for road users.
Spearheaded by PPM Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart and former Premier Sir Alden McLaughlin, the meeting saw a relatively full house of individuals protesting the upcoming change. Both NRA staff and ministry representatives were in attendance.
Last week, the NRA announced significant changes would be made to improve the safety and functionality of the Grand Harbour roundabout. The roundabout sees a significant amount of traffic on a daily basis, with everyone traveling to the eastern districts having to use it.
The change does not impact traffic coming from Crewe Road from accessing South Sound. It only addresses persons coming out of one Grand Harbour exit who have to move swiftly in order to make it across three lanes of traffic coming in two directions to access South Sound or return to the east.
However, several members of the public, who attended the meeting at Seafarers Hall in Red Bay, said they believed the decision to stop motorists from turning onto South Sound or Crewe Road via the Grand Harbour roundabout when exiting Grand Harbour was made without the necessary data.
Some pointed out that the number of accidents at the roundabout does not support the decision. However, the NRA said there is a study of the roundabout, which has not yet been released to the public.
Despite the outcry, an informal poll on Tuesday’s TCHT found a vast majority of road users supportive of the move, with some sharing that the roundabout was poorly designed and saw this as correcting a design flaw.
Some callers made other suggestions, including a traffic light and an overpass. However, NRA sources said this was the safest, most cost-effective option that would not require years to implement.
CMR understands the report has to first be reviewed by the ministry, which would then decide how and when to release it to the public and denied allegations that there are no safety concerns at the roundabout.
One person shared with CMR that the minister had always directed the board that “safety first” was their primary directive and that they were then surprised to see him do an about-face at the meeting.
Only a portion of the roundabout would be blocked off, essentially preventing persons exiting the expanding Grand Harbour area from turning onto South Sound or Crewe Road. The issue, as explained by NRA staff, is that the current access point forces drivers to cross three lanes of traffic in mere seconds.
There have been near misses at the intersection, with road users complaining that they often have to slam on their breaks in order to avoid hitting drivers attempting the dangerous maneuver. Most are able to make it to the middle lane but not without causing others to brake suddenly to allow them safe passage across the third and final lane.
Residents in the Red Bay area said it's challenging to get to the Linford Pierson Highway because of traffic, a problem they say will be worsened if the right turn at Grand Harbor is closed.
They challenged the decision claiming that there were no accident statistics supporting the move. Mr. Howard promised those present at the meeting that he would take their concerns back to the board for further consideration.
NRA sources revealed that the change would add less than two minutes to the commute during non-peak times, with a maximum delay of 8 minutes during the morning rush. They pondered whether any of the attendees had considered that the lives of their loved ones were worth more than 10 minutes of their time.
“I cannot help me wonder why we are waiting until there’s a fatality there before we make this very necessary safety change. Asking for accident stats to support the change is fine; but it should be obvious to all round users this maneuver is highly risky and it’s only a matter of time before there is lost of life there. Why wait for that statistic before making the change.”
The source went on to reveal that attendees at the meeting embellished the delays that would be caused by the change claiming it would be upwards of 45-50 minutes.
Speaking to CMR, someone in attendance at the meeting said that persons were hostile at times, and they felt the mob mentality took over, and the minister simply gave in to their wishes without any consultation with the NRA board. There appears to now be a question of how much autonomy the board has from the minister.
Meantime Minister of Planning Jay Ebanks said the decision was “a bit premature,” adding that there were other roads that the NRA needed to address first.
Mr. Howard said while roads can be built in a few months, there are several hurdles that the NRA faces with the lands that would be adding significant time to the rollout of those solutions.
CMR understands that other planned improvements to the King’s Gym Roundabout offset any delays caused by this change.
A similar restrictive change was put in place years ago at the next Red Bay roundabout close to the AutoSpa. However, after some initial pushback, residents have now grown accustomed to the change, with many appreciating why it is necessary.
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