One-way benefits still to be seen

becomes slow during peak hours owing to a combination of factors.
Some motorists block lanes to pick and drop passengers.
Commuter omnibuses and pirate taxis also inhibit smooth traffic flows as the drivers park their vehicles “willy nilly”.
Urban planner Mr Percy Toriro said one way streets improved traffic flow by removing conflict points on the roads.
“They, however, work best where drivers behave well on the roads,” he said.
“In Harare, the one way streets have not worked as well as expected due to the many bottlenecks caused by commuter omnibus drivers, pirate taxis, and double parking by motorists.”
Mr Toriro said in cases where a one way street is supposed to open up four or five lanes, two or more lanes would be blocked by motorists who double park.
“To get the most out of the one way streets, authorities must be strict with the enforcement of road regulations,” he said.
“That way, speeds can be increased and traffic flows improved.”
Mr Toriro said the city should manage existing one way streets to reap maximum benefits.
He said traffic planning standards should be raised to cope with increased traffic volumes.
Mr Toriro suggested the introduction of a complex motorway system that has freeways to allow for higher speeds.
“The current snail speed of 70-80km per hour on most major roads causes unnecessary bottlenecks,” he said.
“We must now develop an integrated urban transport system that includes railways and interchanges.”
City spokesman Mr Leslie Gwindi said council was assessing the effectiveness of the new one way streets.
He said traffic movement was constrained by the huge volumes of vehicles.
“It might be too early to say the system is helpful or not.
“We are deploying our officers to check the movement of traffic during peak and off-peak hours,” said Mr Gwindi.
He said vehicles blocking the flow of traffic would be impounded.
The city converted sections of six city centre roads into one way traffic flow as part of efforts to control traffic.
Mr Gwindi said there were plans by the city to construct raised motorways, flyovers and underground trains.
“We inherited all the plans that were there,” he said.
“We even perfected some, but we do not have money to construct the structures.
“As you can see, we are even struggling to patch potholes.”
Harare has an estimated one million vehicles amid fears that if no remedial traffic control measures are taken now, the city’s roads could be choked.
Traffic on Leopold Takawira Street now flows north from Charter Road to Samora Machel Avenue.
Traffic along Chinhoyi Street flows south from Samora Machel to Charter Road.
Traffic along Robert Mugabe Road now flows in an eastern direction from Rotten Row up to Enterprise Road.
Traffic along Inez Terrace now moves south from Nelson Mandela Avenue to Kenneth Kaunda Avenue, while traffic on South Avenue flows eastwards from Angwa Street to Wynne Street.
Traffic in the section of Robson Manyika Avenue between Julius Nyerere Way and Inez Terrace now flows in a westerly direction.
The other roads were converted into one-ways in the late 1990s when the late national hero Cde Solomon Tawengwa was executive mayor.
His council designed the traffic master plan that is in use today.
According to a recent urban planning report, the city is failing to properly plan its transport system because of manpower shortages.
There are only 17 officers in the urban planning department when 37 are required.
The city’s sole transport planning officer is due for retirement and efforts to recruit an understudy have not been successful.