Preparatory works begin on installation of elevators at Providence overhead pass

…pedestrians will be charged for not using same – Traffic Chief

Preparatory works to install elevators at the overhead pass at Providence, East Bank Demerara, have commenced and the facility should be up and running by September.
The workers attached to S Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Constructing Services have been dedicatedly working day and night, as they prepare the foundation for the installation of the long awaited elevators. These elevators are already sourced and are being kept at the company’s head office.
Traffic Chief Ramesh Ashram in an interview with  Guyana Times related that persons will be charged and placed before the courts for not using the overhead passes.
Ashram explained that two of the overhead passes are presently closed to facilitate the installation of the elevators so pedestrians, during this time, will be excused from using them.
“We are looking to enforce this (laws) to ensure that they use the passes because the Government would have made these provisions for them,” Ashram stated.
The Traffic Chief further stated that charges were already instituted against persons for not utilising the passes. “The law says that as long as we have a crossing, then it must be used”.
This, he said, is clearly noted in the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act Chapter 51:02.
It was further explained that in most cases, where the overhead passes were installed, the pedestrian crossings were removed.
As such, in the absence of a pedestrian crossing, the overhead pass must be used, since it will not only ensure the safety of the pedestrian but the free flow of traffic, especially during peak hours.
In May 2016, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson had announced plans to construct pedestrian overpasses, as well as a fly-over at Diamond in an effort to reduce road fatalities and congestion on the East Bank of Demerara.
These areas were selected based on the highest concentration of pedestrian movement on the East Bank.