Infrastructure for progress

Tissa Jayaweera

DEVELOPMENT: Infrastructure plays an important part in development of a country. Developed countries continuously improve road and rail to get from point A to point B in the shortest possible time.

Better roads with speeds of 120 Kmph and above and 100 - 200 Kmph on rail are in operation. Tests are being done to have rail speed up to 300 Kmph. Road and rail infrastructure in almost all countries is the responsibility of the state. So is development of new roads and rail.

In China, India and a few other countries the rail development is in the hands of the state. Development of higher speeds, less polluting or no pollution methods for rail and vehicles with no pollution is being tested to be materialised in the near future by the private sector sometimes funded by the state.

Pollution laws and speed limits are introduced and controlled by the state. Costs for development of infrastructure are collected as toll and taxes by the state and reinvested in infrastructure.

Citizens of Sri Lanka too contribute to a great extent by way of taxes and duties for improvement of infrastructure especially roads. We as Citizens of the country and members of the tax paying public would like to know what happens to revenue collected from annual license fee, luxury and semi luxury tax, tax from a litre of petrol and diesel, road development tax collected with insurance premium, customs levies from the import of motor vehicles.

Each budget states these taxes are meant to be utilised for infrastructure development especially roads. Almost all of the road development is by way of loans from ADB, WB and IFC. Why does a farmer in a remote village have to pay VAT on his consumption when enough and more is contributed by those who use the said infrastructure?

Public companies, banks etc have to publish audited accounts in the media. Can the Ministry of Finance publish accounts as their part of good governance and social responsibility which is being preached these days to make the public aware that the contribution made by the public to national coffers is made use for the purpose for which the public have made contribution to.

Roads do go under water due to natural disasters or acts of God. It happens all over the world. Sri Lanka is lucky that there are no snow, hurricanes, tornados etc, only flood due to rain. If the roads are at a lower level than the flood plains and rivers, naturally the roads will go underwater. No government can prevent it. When there is no flood the roads/drains must be in good condition. Are they?

A good road surface is important for road marking. Road design and engineering play an important part. Intelligent road/lane marking is required for smooth flow of vehicles. The width of centre lanes should not be greater than 1.8 meter to enable only smaller faster moving vehicles to travel.

The edge lanes should be wider to enable a vehicle to park and another to overtake without crossing the lane. It is the opposite in Sri Lanka. Centre lanes are wider and edge lanes narrower, which has no meaning and causes indiscipline on the wide lane.

Three/two lane roads at stop signs/colour lights could be converted to four lane/three lane backward 20 meters to accommodate more vehicles to enable the faster moving to be on right lanes to ease congestion. This happens all the time on Baseline Rd, Elvitigala Mawatha etc.

Some times four cars + a three wheeler + many motorcycles are found parallel at a colour light stop. Studs should be placed at intervals on lane markings to show the literate but uneducated drivers that lane marking mean keep to lane. There should be strict bus lanes.

On the one way Duplication Road busses are found to travel on the right lanes and swing left to drop and pick passengers under the very nose of the police officers. At the Reid Avenue/Thurston Road most of the time a jam is caused by a bus on the right side trying to get to the bus stop in front of the craft shop.

Majority of people of this country walk along roads as they depend on public transport for their movement. There is not a single pavement in Colombo or major cities where a person with all senses working can walk without hindrance, let alone the disabled.

Wheelchair-friendly pavements

Much publicity is being given to disable friendly buildings and access. It is to be an act of Parliament and law soon. It is impossible to negotiate a wheel chair on our payments.

Payments and sidewalks are not even in the design on most of the new road developments planed. Why? All walkways in Japan have studded tiles to guide the blind anywhere including to inside of buildings, rail stations etc.

In Sri Lanka shops and places of business fix their signboards, keep their wares, and repair shops keep vehicles and other equipment on payment. Hawkers obstruct pavements, lottery sellers and multinational soft drink kiosks put up permanent structures on payments.

These signs and structures have sharp edges, which can cause injury to those using payments. Who gives them approval to put up permanent structures on pavements and public pathways? A death occurred recently of a lady falling in to an open gully.

Will the relatives have the guts and finance to sue the state for Rs. 100 million? Only politicians sue the Media for publicity and settle amicably. Authorities are blind as they travel in vehicles provided by the public and do not see the plight of the common public.

Only one sense of the five senses works in them and they are very loud with it, giving excuses and blaming someone else as seen most of the time on media. Excuses do not develop a country. Dedicated work does.

Many countries use the one-way system in cities. One way or Uni-flow saves fuel and maintenance, as vehicles travel faster a longer distance without obstruction. Parking of a single lane of vehicles is allowed on one side of road on selected roads on alternate days.

Continuous parking is not allowed or allowed after 8.00 in the night up to 6.00 in the morning only. Maximum would be one hour at a parking meter during the day. In Sri Lanka vehicles are parked on roads during the day for a full 8 - 10 hrs free of charge. No parking is allowed 10 meters before Pedestrian Crossing, before and after a Left Turn.

In Sri Lanka parking is seen on pedestrian crossings and around the bend too. In the good old days No Parking Zones were marked Yellow and Black on the Curb wall. Now it is a yellow line on the road according to international standards. In our literate but uneducated country we need more prominent No Parking Marking. Let's go back to painting the curb in Yellow or Red to indicate no parking.

In US, No Parking is Red. In this country obstructing oncoming traffic and forcing the way through to turn right is the name of the game. The bigger the vehicle more the muscle.

As a result many moments of onward journey is lost on right side as vehicle has its front obstructing oncoming traffic, trying to force its way across to opposite side to get stuck in the middle as the oncoming vehicles on left do not give way. There is no courtesy. I am first and I am moving is what is in the mind of the present drivers. If you cause the obstruction you find the solution is the thought of others.

Police cause confusion

Although traffic lights do not work sometimes, what is worse is, Police controlling traffic at signal lights. Lights are meant to compress traffic and release so that they can travel a grater distance without hindrance. Police cause confusion - signal vehicles to proceed when red and stop when green. As a result the Police destroy the respect to traffic colour light, the sole responsibility of Police is maintaining discipline.

Just recently I saw the discipline maintained by motorists being destroyed by a Policeman at the traffic lights of Castle Street, Kanatte, Devi Balika roundabout at 5.30 in the evening. Most of the Officers manning traffic do not know how to control the movement. A large volume in one direction causes congestion ahead.

Roundabout and Cross Road Rule is Vehicle on Right has Right of Way. Some of our Police and most of our drivers do not know this. Colour lights are meant to prevent congestion and create a vacant space ahead. In US it is First to Come First to Go where traffic is not controlled by colour lights, this leaves sufficient space between vehicles. Timers are fitted at Colour lights in India and other countries to save fuel.

Three wheelers, busses, non AC taxi switch off engines to save fuel and cause less pollution. High time we had timers at Colour Lights and compel three wheelers, busses to switch off at colour lights. Most of the time stop time is approximately 60 seconds. India is supposed to have saved eight percent of fuel by vehicles switching off at colour lights in major cities.

Speed Governors were used in Singapore some time back before the Police started to use surveillance cameras. Taxi had a bell when the speed was over 80 Kmph to warn passenger and driver. Heavy vehicles had a light beacon on hood, which lit if the speed exceeds 60 Kmph.

Driver had to pay a fine to have the light disengaged by the police or by a registered service station. These primitive methods have been discarded and road discipline, speed etc is monitored by camera. Offenders are mailed the charge sheet with a picture to registered owner to be paid within 14 days. Most developed countries use the surveillance camera system as policing is expensive and police are used for better purposes other than looking for traffic offenders.

In the good old days CTB busses had to punch a card taking the journey as three and half hours to Kandy in Kiribathgoda, Nittambuwa, Nelundeniya, Peradeniya if I remember right, but driver had a tea stop of half hour and did the journey in three hours but there was some monitoring and less speeding.

No one cares for noise pollution. In the morning you are awakened by religious noise pollution, disturbed during the day and evening too.

Bus drivers blow horn on approaching a bus stop and Police look on. There were Silence Zones. Some time ago Electric Horns were banned within major cities of India. Now drivers of India are more disciplined.

Smog tests were to be done on vehicles every year as a public/private partnership which was given much prominence in media by the Government as well as the private partner a few months back. What happened to this program? Just a bottle of soda!

A full fitness test is required on all vehicles at least once in two years let alone a smog test. Observe the bleaching busses, trucks and double cabs. The badly tuned petrol vehicles do not bleach but add a lot of smog to the air.

The biggest offenders are the vehicles owned by the state and the armed services. Even our armoured vehicles in the battlefield blow out so much smoke polluting the fauna and flora. A correctly tuned engine causes less pollution and gives more miles per litre.

Developed countries are moving to echo friendly vehicles, hybrid vehicles that cause less pollution and fuel cell vehicles, which cause no air or sound pollution. Sri Lanka is yet to get rid of two stroke and use of LNG/LPG is not on the cards. A local company is investing USD in Australia to convert public vehicles, taxis and busses in Australia to LNG/LPG. LPG is a less pollution causing fuel, is not a recognised fuel in Sri Lanka. Why?

Motorcycles are a menace in the country. Most riders know only to ride. They are clueless about road rules and courtesy. Motor vehicle examiners issue license to riders who can balance and ride a bike as they follow a car in which the examiner is testing a driver. Most of the time motor cycles are overloaded and the rider has no control.

They travel on the middle of the road at slow speed, turn as the riders head turns with no hand or trafficator signal. Most have improper lighting or no lights at all, swing in and out of lanes and some ride on the lane marking obstructing two lanes of vehicles.

Worst enemy on the road

Mopeds are the worst enemy on the road. No helmet, no number plate, no insurance, no license to ride, under-age riders, two/three persons on a vehicle meant for one and they vanish after causing a mishap, untraceable as they have no registration number.

Motorcycle riders are not checked for riding under the influence of alcohol. Why? Even being at a public place under the influence of alcohol and causing disturbance to others is an offence.

Push cycles are a common mode of transport and is getting popular even in the west. A push cycle must have a white light in front and a red reflector in the rear. The sale of a bicycle without a light was an offence sometime back.

The rider has to have portative headgear and a bicycle is meant to be used by one person. In Sri Lanka sometimes three people travel on a bicycle. The highway rule for bicycle is same as per any vehicle on road. How many of our riders know this? Even some of our motorcycle riders do not know this.

In the good old days if a bicycle is ridden three feet away from edge of the road police charged rider. Present police are not bothered or unaware. The State is responsible for the life of a person. After a mishap the taxpayers money is used to hospitalise and cure the injured.

Driver training schools and the SLTB driver training school use the public highway for training drivers. There are no training tracks in Sri Lanka. Drivers are trained to drive forward only.

No skid training, no safe braking training, no reverse training. The economic cost of obstructing normal traffic and danger to other road users by inexperienced persons at the wheel is not known. No calculation is available on the cost to economy by bad road planning, bad surface, traffic jams etc.

India calculated the saving of fuel by installing timers at colour lights. Uni-flow system in Colombo must have an effect on reduction of fuel consumption, as there are less traffic jams during non-peak hours and vehicles move faster.

There is no congestion on Duplication Road/Galle Road going South after 6 p.m., whereas in the past traffic jam on Galle going South continued till about 8 p.m. Less mishaps mean less time lost and a saving for the economy. Less injury to man and machine means less money spent by state in hospitalisation as well as import of parts.

Road engineers and Road Development Authority is yet to come up with a premix that suits the climate of Sri Lanka that does not corrugate or curl. They do not have technology to resurface roads with a thin layer of premix using a premix layer machine and road roller following. All this reverts back to good road engineering, intelligent policy and efficient police.