Driving out of Honiara’s Traffic Jam

By Harold Maesulia. Follow me on twitter.

"So here I was in a RAV-4, stuck in the heart of Point Cruz, in the middle of a sweltering afternoon 
when I began to wear my mind out in search for answers." Photo: Courtesy of Sammy Batini.

Traffic in Honiara is truly a nightmare. The experience is frustrating during the busiest hours of the day.

It’s unbearable when you get stuck trying to get to work when, in front of you, vehicles of all kinds compete for space on the only road that connects both town ends.

The number of vehicles on the road is growing every year - a situation being worsened by the increase in car importation. Importers of motor vehicles are feeling the pressure to keep up with the demand for this luxury item. And taxi and bus operators cannot keep pace with the growing population’s need for more public transport.

Making matters even worse is that the only highway in Honiara is littered with potholes. In fine weather they are a nuisance. But when the floodgates of heaven open, as we saw in recent days, these pesky depressions may as well be the size of volcanic craters; making the road hazardous for driving and near-impossible to navigate.

With no alternate routes to get from the eastern to the western end of the town, it is easy to isolate some of the root causes of this problem.And so with traffic inching along at a snail’s pace, one simply cannot help oneself from pondering the possible solutions to this mounting crisis.So here I was in a RAV-4, stuck in the heart of Point Cruz, in the middle of a sweltering afternoon when I began to wear my mind out in search for answers.

My thoughts wandered back to the past, to a time when I was at my uncle’s home - who, at that time, served as the Director of the Government Information Unit. On the table, I spotted short hand notes of a parliamentary session on comments by one of the members of Parliament. Interestingly, the notes documented the issue of having an additional thoroughfare running the entire length between the east-west town boundaries to serve as an alternate route during times of disaster.

I do not remember the date of the meeting, but it was probably during the pre-independence years. I completely agreed with the idea set forth in that proposal but wondered why the government back then did nothing about it.

Honiara is said to be one of the poorly planned cities in the South Pacific. The facts supporting this are surfacing now. With the traffic growing at an alarming rate, we can only wish that the government of the day seriously consider laying down an alternative route. We can only hope also that as reported by Island Sun “the tons of money framed for infrastructure in the city this year by NCRA” will do something more than just refilling the same old potholes.

Needless to say, a highway without potholes makes for a smooth and very pleasant ride. But it won’t increase road-space.We can regulate the import of cars, as suggested by an editorial in the Island Sun, but how long can that last for? Businesses need to operate, and as a growing city it must prepare for this growth. Each year, new businesses are being opened and old ones being expanded. Both of which require additional manpower; thus increasing the labour force and, with it, the number of commuters. When all these are allowed to operate on the current roadway, the result is a lot of inconveniences to businesses and commuters alike. And everyone will fight for space on a road that is already clogged with more vehicles than it can accommodate.

If we want to see meaningful change then more resources should be targeted at clearing way for expansion of Honiara’s network of roadways. There are millions of dollars spent each year by the national government on efforts to improve the city’s existing roads. A huge portion of this money is often spent on filling up the potholes. But not a cent towards easing traffic congestion. It is now time for our government to realize this city’s need of adding another major highway and seriously allocate funds for it.

We were once trapped not being able to move even an inch on Mendana Avenue.
So aiming to escape the madness, my uncle decided to take a detour through Chinatown.

We were not even a meter past the Town Council round-about when we got wedged yet again. The old one-lane bridge at Chinatown quickly foiled what was supposed to be our quick escape route.

It was such a long wait. It was supposed to be a ten minutes drive only but by the time we got to our destination at Kola Ridge, the sun was setting already.

Three hours spent crawling along in rush hour traffic on the only highway that serves an entire city leads to only one conclusion: this place is in desperate need of another highway.

 

I dream of that day when this will be realized for my city.