No Right Turn Directive on Busy Roads by Lusaka Mayor is Right Move for Decongestion
THE Zambian Roads & Highway Safety Group (ZRHSG) welcomes the decision to close all right hand turns on all newly built roads and on busiest roads within Lusaka as announced by the Lusaka City Mayor, Mr Miles Sampa
The Group believes closing all right hand turns will lead to a faster and a smoother flow of traffic around Lusaka as those in the inner lane or the fast lane move faster without any delays or disturbances.
The Group believes this move will also help reduce the many incidences of accidents recorded on these busy roads.
The Group therefore welcomes the Mayor of Lusaka’s recent announcement that all islands starting with the newest roads will be closed permanently thereby making Lusaka a No Right Hand Turn city.
The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group has always advocated for turning busiest roads into a No Right Hand Turn roads in the Lusaka CBD- Central Business District – and instead use traffic circles or roundabouts – to enable traffic intending to turn right to go round and make U turns at the traffic circle for them to come around and have access the other lanes.
This will effectively make the busy roads in Lusaka “Turn Left Only” roads and free the inner lanes for fast lanes.
Most delays on the fast lane or inner lane are caused by vehicles blocking the fast lane as they wait for their turn to turn right.
These waitings or dead stops on busy roads like on Addis Ababa, Los Angeles Boulevard, Great East Rd, Kamloops, Burma, Chilimbulu, Katima Mulilo, Tokyo Ring Road among others, have been a cause of many road traffic accidents recorded on these roads.
The Group is hopefully the Lusaka City Council will go further and make by laws that will compel road constructors that all new roads built in Lusaka be “No Right Turn’ Roads.
Another area the by laws will come in handy is to demand that new roads have space for cyclists and pedestrians to walk or use these roads safely.
“When all roads have their islands closed and no vehicles allowed to turn right or cut across busy roads, there will be faster flow of traffic, reduced time spent on the road and reduced number of road traffic accidents recorded. There will also be enough space for pedestrians and cyclists to use.
The Group urges RDA, RTSA and other road safety and transport agencies to develop a habit of listening to advise from advocacy groups like the way the Mayor Miles Sampa has done.
This article originally appeared on Lusaka Times