Traffic Situation In The City Makes You Go Eish

Thulaganyo Jankie | Monday March 1, 2021 14:55

It does! Statistics Botswana might differ with this assertion but I have done my research and can vouch for this in a court of law. My research involved observing the frowns on traffic cops who are substitutes for malfunctioning traffic lights.

Years ago, you could not buy a vehicle if you didn’t have a licence. This was because financiers insisted on it before doling out the money. Nowadays, you just have to win a tender to patch potholes in Broadhurst Industrial Site, get the customary mobilisation fee, cross over to Mogoditshane and get a BMW 325. You don’t need a driver’s licence. All you need is that mobilisation fee.

Government is trying to contain such contractors but the lid keeps popping off. The potholes remain and this has proved to be a traffic inconvenience. It seems like the potholes and malfunctioning traffic lights are in some sort of competition to cause traffic jams. 

Very unreliable sources in the city posit that half the city traffic lights are currently not working. This means that we are always driving in a gridlock especially around the busier streets.

When traffic lights are not working, all traffic rules are set aside and the only rule that is observed is ‘No Stopping’. So that means when you get to Molapo Crossing, the labyrinth of lanes makes negotiating your way through seem like one trying to stand in a hammock. 

Driving into the city is a project on its own. I mean think about. When you finally wiggle yourself out of the hostage situation which is what traffic is in the city and you get to work there’s actually no time to do actual work. This is because after grabbing a cup of coffee and discussing the previous Manchester United’s loss you will have to start the long commute home.

For us to reduce traffic woes we need to get a good number of motorists off the road. By getting them off the road, I do not mean onto the sidewalk even though doing that might have a side health benefit of ramping up the average pedestrian pulse rate.

Government has done its bit. They have increased tariffs on vehicles that are procured from the car capital of the world, Mogoditshane. This means if your wallet is not fit enough it cannot even afford a Honda Fit these days.

But we are city slickers. Like top of the pile in the country. So in the interim as the mayor and his team struggle to come up with solutions we must do our bit.

Could carpooling be a solution? I don’t know. The average motorist in GC wants to be seen in his own set of wheels and make pedestrians a darker shade of green with envy. But that could actually reduce the traffic on our distressed roads. The only problem that needs to be navigated is the radio station to listen to when in one car. Oh, there’s also the issue of having to deal with five different types of colognes or body emissions – which will be a very difficult shift for one’s nostrils.

Sigh! Just like our traffic , am going to put an ‘Out of Order’ sticker on my forehead and call it a day. These traffic issues are not so easy to unjam. Alas! (For comments, feedback and insults email inkspills1969@gmail.com)