In which I talk about traffic policy again

As discussed here and elsewhere, Trinidad is currently suffering from a serious traffic problem, which is the focus of an article in the Express today. Somewhat surprisingly, one of the traffic officers interviewed hits the nail on the head:

The main cause of traffic: Too many cars. ASP Jackson stated that there were more than 400,000 cars on the nation’s road according to the Licensing Division. He said he would not be surprised if there were significantly more.

“What is the need for all these cars? Families that used to have one car, now have two and three,” said ASP Jackson.

Pretty much. Among the trappings of economic development: greater access to private vehicular transportation. Naturally, respondents in the article mention things like “more roads” as being the solution, but any transportation engineer worth her slat will tell you that that’s a short term solution. Besides, it’s also a solution that comes at great expense, what with having to tear down homes, businesses, and farmland to accomodate the new cars. In reality, the solutions that are likely to be effective aren’t likely to be popular:

• Eliminate the massive gasoline subsidies
• Introduce congestion pricing in downtown POS
• Toll the major highways
• Reform parking policy — no more free parking in POS, and stop building parking garage after garage!
• Improve public transportation: build the promised train lines, keep going with the ferries, and make the PBR into a BRT corridor (and please please don’t allow private cars onto it as some people suggested! That is insanity!)
• Improve bike and pedestrian friendliness of downtown POS and environs

These are the quicker solutions. Of course, there’s also the important long-term solution of focusing on transit-oriented development, which gets no attention that I can see in Trinidad (just look at all the weak attempts we make to emulate the worst of American suburban sprawl; Trincity is particularly horrifying).

You’ll  be shocked to hear that the government isn’t talking about any of this, even as it drives construction in POS to a fever pitch. After all, solutions are hard, and buildings are shiny! Instead we depend on traffic management serendiptity to save us. After all, God is a Trini.

Cairo

Well, this is certainly a city that takes some getting used to. From the moment we landed, we’ve faced a constant barrage of ‘friendly’ offers for tours, taxis, souvenirs, perfume, hotels, miscellanous advice, on and on. When I lived in Germany, I used to view every transaction as a little adventure, as the language barrier often conspired to create awkward situations for me. Here, it’s not just the transactions: every trip outside my hotel room is like a little episode of a video game. My wife and I walked to the Egyptian Museum today, not 20 minutes from our hotel, and no fewer than three — three! — people tried to convince us that the museum was closed due to prayer time/lunch time/visiting dignitaries (wtf?). But! We were in luck, because there are some great shops to visit nearby, and would we like to see them?

It’s all understandable, of course. Egypt is probably the poorest country I’ve ever visited. There’s poverty here that compares to the Beetham, the difference being that here, it stretches for miles and miles in several directions. Under the circumstances, it’s hard to begrudge people trying to take an extra 50 cents off you. J and I foolishly headed off to the Pyramids without a plan, and got taken for a bit of a ride as a result, but all told, the whole affair barely amounted to 50 dollars. Frankly, that’s not terrible, considering that you’re seeing the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World. Egypt is a poor pouplation sitting on some of the most awesome – and I mean that in the true sense of the word – achievements of mankind. I’ve ended up thinking that the attempts to charge a little toll are kind of justified.

Still, understandable doesn’t necessarily translate to pleasant or appropriate, and the casual tourist can’t be expected to  buy Egypt out of its problems. I’ve been working overtime to ignore the more polite touts, and be firm with the more aggressive ones, like the guy who leaned into our taxi window and tried to get the driver to overcharge us (no doubt planning to get some baksheesh in return).

The constant attempts to verbally separate you from your pounds aren’t the only problem with this town. The pollution is stifling. Taking a taxi means choosing between choking on the fumes within the cab (they’re all models from the 60s and 70s), or rolling down the windows and letting all of Cario’s hydrocarbons wash over you. Walking isn’t a whole lot better. You’re still at the mercy of Cairo’s insane drivers, and moreover, the whole city kind of feels like George Street in Port of Spain, minus Jean and Dinah.

And yet. I’m leaving tomorrow night, and I’m going to leave craving more Cairo. All it takes is a little time in the Egyptian Museum, a nice dinner on the Nile, and watching the sunset make light dance on the samdy mosques of Islamic Cairo. The weather, which has been perfect, helps as well. And the touts and haggling and hassle all become part of the background after a day or two, things to be tolerated, like delays on the 2, rather than dealbreakers. I spent most of my first day swearing never to return, but I’ve been won over. I’ll be back.

Life during wartime

I’ve been abroad for a while, so you’ll have to excuse me, but… is the War on Christmas over? I haven’t been seeing anything about it this year. What happened? Did our godless secularist soldiers win? Are we going to invade Chanukah next?

Well, either way: Happy Holidays!

A fresh approach

Submitted without comment:

[Acting Deputy Police Commisioner Gilbert Reyes] also spoke about an increase in the number of people being murdered over arguments.

“Persons are being killed for very simple reasons, small arguments,” Reyes said.

He pointed to at least six murders in the last two weeks, in which the victims were either followed home or stalked and killed following arguments.

Reyes advised people to stay away from arguments.

Crime prevention is so simple!

Sorry for the absence of late. I promise to try harder.