This section presents a review of current
transportation system characteristics, issues and proposals for Port of Spain
and sets out the draft strategy for accessibility improvement and movement
of goods and people within, to and through the capital city. Forecasts of land use and socio-economic changes
in Greater Port of Spain area as outlined above have been taken into account.
Interviews with organisations and individuals
involved in the transport sector of Trinidad have been carried out and their
views, experiences and recommendations have been noted. These are included at Annex 1.
Previous transportation studies for
Port of Spain have been reviewed and where relevant, their outcomes have been
incorporated. Qualitative and quantitative
approaches have been used to carry out a preliminary phasing strategy for
the identified schemes.
A programme of surveys and collection
of traffic and transport demand information is currently under way.
Broad forecasts of travel demand will be made after the completion
of traffic data collection which will enable cross-checking and where possible
updating of previous forecasts and assumptions. A more quantified approach to ranking of the
identified schemes may also be achievable.
The data collection is from three sources:
1.
Direct
surveys along Beetham Highway, Priority Bus Route and Eastern Main Road.
2.
Data
available in the Traffic Management Centre of Ministry of Works.
3.
Recent
surveys undertaken by Halcrow.
The results of the analysis will be
included in the draft final report of this study. After that stage, more detailed
study and assessment of the proposed major transportation projects will be
required prior to implementation.
Transportation
in the Port of Spain area is essentially highway based, with transport of
goods and people by sea from the port complex (ferry, coastal and ocean-going
vessels) providing connections to Tobago, to other Caribbean nations and world-wide.
The
road hierarchy in Trinidad relates to highway maintenance responsibilities,
with the Ministry of Works and Transport being responsible for main highways
and municipal corporations responsible for local roads. The main highway corridor through Port of Spain
runs from the north west to south east via Mucarapo Road, Wrightson Road,
Beetham Road and into the Churchill Roosevelt Highway . From the east, the Eastern Main Road and the
Priority Bus Route also terminate in the central business core.
From
the north west and north east two other important routes converge on the Savannah
to run into Uptown/Downtown via Saddle Road from Maraval and Lady Young Road
from St Anns, Cascade and further east. The latter route acts as a bypass for traffic from Barataria and
the eastern corridor.
The
Beetham Highway and its continuation as Churchill Roosevelt Highway is a high
quality dual carriageway link that is the major east-west link from Arima
and the international airport.. Within
Port of Spain, the Beetham Highway continues along the Gulf of Paria eventually
becoming Foreshore Highway/Wrightson Road to link with the highway network
to the west of the city. Access to
downtown Port of Spain for westbound traffic exists via the junctions of Wrightson
Road with Broadway and Edward Street. Access to the centre of Port of Spain can also be gained via Colville
Street.
The
Eastern Main Road (EMR) is a two way single carriageway road. At its entry point to Port of Spain it is upgraded
to a dual two-lane road before becoming South Quay. South Quay is a dual carriageway standard
road with but no median to divide the opposing traffic movements.
The
Priority Bus Route constructed on a disused railway track is an exclusive
two-way single carriageway road accommodating public transport, buses and
maxi taxis, but is also used by other licensed vehicles including emergency
services (fire, police and ambulance) as well as private cars.
The
western corridor comprises the Foreshore Highway, Mucurapo Road and the Western Main Road. The Foreshore highway
is a dual two-lane carriageway road that becomes Wrightson Road in the western
periphery of the Downtown/Woodbrook area.
The
Western Main Road is a two-way single carriageway road dividing the developed
area of St. James and Cocorite before joining with Mucarapo Road to run on
towards Diego Martin, Westmoorings and Chaguaramas.
The
northern corridor comprises Saddle Road from the north west and Lady Young
Road from the north east. Both roads are single carriageways and pass through
and along valleys from the northern hillside communities.
The
Port of Spain area is the major employment centre of the country and daily
travel to work and for business, shopping and leisure represents a significant
movement of people and goods.
The
1996 transportation study (EDM-Cansualt) suggested that some 20,000 person
trips were made to Port of Spain during the AM peak hour from the entry points
to the east of the city (Churchill-Roosevelt Highway, Priority Bus Route and
Eastern Main Road). This represented
some 65% of the total incoming person trips to Port of Spain and 40 to 50%
of total AM peak traffic.
Conversion
of these numbers to person trips between 06.00-09.00 hours provides an estimate
of 90,000 people entering Port of Spain each morning.
The
outflow of people from Port of Spain during the AM peak hour via the eastern
gates was also significant at some 12,000 persons (i.e. some 36,000 person
trips during the three hour AM peak period).
These
figures relate to 1996 data and it can be expected that, since that time some
10 to 15% growth in travel demand has been experienced, due to increases in
employment and car ownership.
The
latest estimate of people's daily travel to and from Port of Spain would be
about 500,000 person trips per day, excluding nighttime and weekend leisure
trips. The EDM-Cansault study identified
that 50% of trips in Port of Spain were made by public transport and that
vehicle occupancy rates were about 2.5 per car and 12.5 per maxi taxi.
This growth in the (national) ownership
of private vehicles has exacerbated traffic congestion on the highway system,
particularly within and around downtown Port of Spain. Table
4.1 shows the rate of increase in the number of vehicles registered
in Trinidad and Tobago.
Table 4.1 Growth in the Number of Registered Vehicles (in Trinidad and Tobago)
|
Vehicle Type |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
% Growth 1993 -
2000 |
|
Motorcycle |
2,144 |
2,227 |
2,350 |
2,458 |
2,537 |
2,731 |
2,860 |
2,914 |
35.9 |
|
Private |
135,397 |
137,209 |
141,047 |
152,754 |
165,489 |
182,253 |
196,105 |
203,398 |
50.2 |
|
Rented |
2,755 |
4,004 |
4,638 |
5,537 |
6,085 |
6,598 |
7,026 |
7,276 |
164.1 |
|
Hired |
20,492 |
20,523 |
20,689 |
21,443 |
22,285 |
24,084 |
25,814 |
26,462 |
29.1 |
|
Goods |
35,815 |
36,769 |
38,625 |
41,196 |
43,841 |
46,990 |
49,649 |
51,091 |
42.7 |
|
Omnibus |
271 |
271 |
271 |
271 |
271 |
272 |
317 |
348 |
28.4 |
|
Total |
204,650 |
208,999 |
215,895 |
232,670 |
250,140 |
273,384 |
292,908 |
303,035 |
48.1 |
Source:
Vehicle Registry Office of Trinidad, 2000
·
Inc. tractors, trailers and industrial vehicles
If the recent rate of private vehicle registration
continues, car traffic in terms of daily vehicle-km driven on roads, could
double in the next fifteen years and consequently, the relative share of public
transport against private mode will shift significantly in favour of private
vehicles.
A
major programme of road construction and capacity improvement would be required
to cater for this rapid increase in private vehicle use, but this is unlikely
to prove sustainable in either economic or environmental terms.
The
most comprehensive data regarding parking supply and demand in Port of Spain
has been provided in the EDM-Cansult report.
The parking supply in downtown Port of Spain was estimated around 4500
spaces compared with demand of 4000 in 1996.
These data are however likely to significantly underestimate the total
level of parking demand compared with labour demand and commuting into the
city of Port of Spain (nearly 60,000
jobs have been estimated in Downtown/Uptown alone).
It
is expected that recent increases in vehicle registrations/ownership is placing
increasing pressure on the provision of parking and is possibly a reason for
some relocation of employment out of the traditional core area. Table 4.2
shows various forms of parking supply and demand in Port of
Spain in 1996.