Dealing with traffic

Under the Maga Neguma and Gama Neguma schemes, the road network in the outstations has expanded at an unprecedented rate. Hitherto inaccessible villages were opened for motor traffic and the standard of living of rural people increased proportionately.

However, the same cannot be said of the urban areas. Although a great deal has been done to improve urban roads, the social return on investment has not been on the same level as in the villages, due mainly to steeply rising traffic.

Motor vehicle imports to Sri Lanka currently stand at just under half a million units per annum. To put things in perspective, this figure is greater than the total number of motor vehicles in the country 30 years ago.

Rush hours

Unfortunately, not even then was the road system able to cope with the traffic of that time. Today the roads are heaving with vehicles - a total of three million altogether, one for every seventh person.

Traffic chaos in Colombo city. File photo

A disproportionate number - and most of the new vehicles - are on the roads of the Western Province. Consequently, the roads in and around Colombo are in a chronic state of congestion during rush hours.

There would have been total gridlock in Colombo had the uniflow scheme not been introduced four years ago. However, it is apparent that, even with roads being widened and new roads being built, there will soon come a point at which the system is overloaded.

The situation is likely to be exacerbated when the new Southern Highway is opened in September. Although it will relieve stress on the Galle Road, it will add to the traffic on the High Level Road.

Tax concessions

Although the latter is being widened, this is unlikely to be sufficient to deal with the additional volume. Part of the traffic will be diverted through Talawatugoda, but this again will add to the traffic on the other arterial roads.

The problem is that the roads leading into Colombo all have bottlenecks, which impede the smooth flow of traffic inwards or outwards - depending on time of day. The growing annual increment to the vehicle fleet aggravates the situation.

Obviously, something needs to be done very fast to avert traffic chaos. It will involve considerable investment, though not necessarily in tar and concrete for new roads.

One solution is to pare down the actual size of vehicles. In Japan, for instance, the government gives enormous tax concessions on 'Kei' cars - small runabouts with engine capacities of less than 600 cc. This yields dividends in reduced fuel consumption and emissions, while decreasing the area the traffic occupies.

Sadly, the Sri Lankan middle class has a predilection for the largish Saloon Car, the type that Germans, with typical accuracy, call Mittelklassewagen - Middle Class Car. This penchant has to do with issues of esteem and resale value more than utility.

Traffic congestion

Most roads in Sri Lanka are more suited to the shorter, narrower Morris Minors and Volkswagen Beetles, not to mention the Austin 7s, of yore.

Overtaking, for example is almost impossible on many roads in a larger car.

If the public were educated to use smaller cars, such as the ubiquitous Maruti or the newly introduced Nano, part of the problem would be solved.

Incidentally, these small cars are relatively better powered than middle-class saloon cars, so they can accelerate better at traffic lights - slow starts are a major cause for lower vehicle throughput at road junctions.

People in cars tend to complain about trishaws and motorcycles holding up traffic and banning the former is tendered as a solution to traffic congestion. The truth is, however, that these vehicles are ideally suited in size for the heavy traffic conditions of the urban areas.

Furthermore, trishaws account for 25 percent and motorcycles 50 percent of all vehicle imports and so serve a much larger proportion of the population compared to cars, which represent about a tenth.

Economic expansion

Another solution is to locate rush hour destinations closer to one another, preferably outside the city centre. The government is already taking steps to relocate its offices, for example to the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and Battaramulla areas in Colombo district, and to Gannoruwa and Pallekele in Kandy.

However, with the rapid economic expansion experienced since the end of the civil conflict, and with Colombo being the centre for growth, there is likely to be increased commuting by private-sector employees, which will more than make up for this.

The only long-term solution appears to be that adopted by cities in the developed countries: increased public transport, with the middle class being wooed away from their cars for commuting purposes.

This would entail greater expenditure on the railways and bus services, on lightweight double-decker urban trains and double-decker buses, more parking facilities at railway stations and specialised bus lanes. Ultimately, some form of modern high-speed rapid transit system would have to be introduced.

Better driving practices

First world cities also cater for more commuting by bicycle, providing segregated bicycle paths and overpasses. The Road Development and Urban Development Authorities are thinking along these lines for Dambulla and Anuradhapura, but there are no plans for the Colombo conurbation.

However, there is one interim solution to buy time for these improvements to be implemented, which is to educate drivers in better driving practices, together with greater enforcement of road rules.

For instance, a common cause of traffic jams on multi-lane roads is improper use the fast lane, which is intended mainly for overtaking. Vehicles hogging the centre lane tend to slow the overall speed of the traffic to their own speed.

Private buses also cause obstruction by stopping to pick up passengers at places other than bus halts and by not pulling in to do so, but waiting in the middle of the road. Trishaws and motorcycles weave in and out of traffic, again slowing down the flow.

Timely action on these issues could go a long way towards easing traffic congestion with minimal financial outlay.