Bus rank exit, mayhem about to happen

Monitor Editor | Monday June 2, 2014 17:25

The rate at which time is wasted during the so-called rush hours in Gaborone is frightening to say the least. The exit and entry points at the only bus rank are the worst nightmares for anyone in Gaborone. It eats into your precious time, high risks of collisions, it increases stress and depression, it even affects the productivity level of the work-force trapped entering and exiting the bus rank

With just one entry and one exit point, traffic is often forced to move at a snail’s pace in and out of the bus rank, causing unnecessary delays. Unnecessary because for decades it does not need any genius to notice that the planning for the bus rank’s exit and entry points have now been outgrown by the amount of traffic flow in that busy area.

One only has to pity the businesses and malls that are located that side of town. Who would want to drive there and risk being trapped in hours of traffic, thus losing valuable time! But should it take 50 years of independence for the city planners to realise that there is now an urgent need to have more than one entry and exit point at the bus rank?

Besides the traffic congestion, having one exit and one entry (both in the same direction) is a security threat, a ticking time bomb that could spell catastrophe for the nation if an act of terrorism strikes in the middle of one of these endless traffic jams.

In fact something similar to this happened a few years back when a scuffle broke out after a quarrel; buses were smashed, and people were badly injured; and the only exit points were jammed up.

That incident should have taught us to plan anew and avoid a repeat of the unfortunate incidents or worse. We should not wait for the proverbial lightening to strike twice in the same place.

Surely time has come for the city planners to open up the routes linking the bus rank with the station, in the East, the CBD in the North, to make driving in and out of the bus rank less stressful.