For City residents it may have already faded into memory, but there once was a time when Cemetery Road and Vernon Streets were two way; so was Craig Street...and Daly Street, and all of Barrack Road. But over the past ten years, all these have been changed; they are now one way streets. The city's traffic managers say it helps the flow of traffic across the city, eases congestion. And well it may, but a new City Hall decision to limit the flow of traffic on the single busiest two way street in the city looks as if it will create quite an uproar. It was already meeting swells of disapprobation when Keith Swift visited today.
Keith Swift Reporting,
It is the most trafficked stretch of two way in Belize City. Everyday thousands of cars making their way through downtown Belize City travel east on North Front Street from here at the base of the Swing Bridge to City Hall, it is about a half mile journey. But no more because the City Council has declared it as a one-way road. Traffic wardens broke the news to drivers such as this taxi-man who tried to enter North Front Street from its junction with Handyside Street.
Driver #1
"I never know about that man. It is really inconvenient, I don't know why the hell they did that."
Despite his protest, he was turned back and so too were other drivers who tried to drive from City Hall to the Swing Bridge. It was news to them and not the kind news they wanted to hear.
Driver #2,
"Why are changing all the streets to one way and that is causing a lot of problems when you change the street to one way. They make the traffic messed up anytime they have one-way streets. The wider streets should always be two way and the narrow ones can be one way. It definitely will cost more gas because every time you have go all the way around but this is sick man."
Driver #3,
"Somebody has to do something about this because this doesn't make sense what they are doing. When we come here we can't come this way and we have to go all the way around the park and get back to the taxi stand where I work. Somebody has to do something about this. The Mayor has to look at this and revisit it. Look at the situation with the bus right now because this street (Handyside), this street is not an easy street big vehicles to turn, especially the buses with the tourists. So something has to be done about this, this can't stay like this because this is outrageous, this is out of order."
But it will be more than just than costly and inconvenient for this man - the move could come between him and his job.
Driver #4,
"My office is that way and I have to go this way, a temporary thing..."
Keith Swift,
It's not temporary.
Driver #5,
"Its not? Oh Gawd its just makes Belize City traffic a little bit worse."
The man running the City Council's Traffic Department is Glen Rivero. He says the move is to improve traffic flow in the city. He told us that right now, it's only temporary and it's just a test.
Glen Rivero, Acting Coordinator of Traffic Department
"We're looking at the technical part of traffic flow so we are doing it as a temporary regulation for now and after a period we will evaluate it and go back to the drawing board and see the effects of it."
Keith Swift,
How long is temporary?
Glen Rivero,
"We're looking at it from now to the end of the month and then we go back to the drawing board and see what we get from it."
Keith Swift,
Drivers say it is a nightmare for them.
Glen Rivero,
"Some won't and others will appreciate the change."
Keith Swift,
They say no announcement was made.
Glen Rivero,
"Yes we did make announcements in the newspaper and in all the media houses and so on."
Rivero says the true test of the change will come at rush hour but if this shot of Hyde's Lane at 2:30 is any indication, there won't be a rush at rush hour - it will be more like a slow rolling log jam.
Again Rivero says the move is temporary and in the interim Craig Street will be reopened to two way traffic.
