Minister Ryan Straughn Advocates for Flyovers to Ease Traffic Gridlock: Barbados Physical Development Plan Debate

Government still has an eye on the creation of flyovers to ease the traffic gridlock faced by motorists during daily commute to and from their place of business.

This conclusion was made as Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Ryan Straughn debated the resolution Barbados Physical Development Plan as amended 2023 in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The Member of Parliament for Christ Church East Central lamented the traffic gridlock between roundabouts situated near Gildan and Kooyman along the ABC Highway which contributed to workers and school children arriving late to their destinations and impeded access to Kingsland.

In supporting the resolution, Straughn reflected on where Barbados is currently, its past and how Barbadians must see the Physical Development Plan in relation to going forward over the next generations.

He said one should not divorce decisions taken previously about planning for the future and underscored how not following through on the building of a four-lane highway in the 1980s and [flyovers] now presents itself for traffic backlog along the highway which runs along Kingsland going north.

“In thinking forward Sir as part of the Development Plan, we must think about what the country would look like in 40 years . . . upon taking office in 2008, the last administration determined that there will be no flyovers . . . that decision 15 years ago now leads to a situation every morning and evening in every part of this country you have gridlock,” said Straughn, who added that any big decision made today must be followed through by the Barbados Labour Party government.

He said gridlock impacts how one gets to work, “and therefore they (the boss) have every right to discipline you for getting to work late, but it is not your fault that a political party made a decision that was injurious to you without understanding the impact that it is going to have on people down the road . . . .

“You must understand Sir, if you make a decision . . . there has to be an alternative in place to help solve the problem. The problem is still there when you cancel the contract.”

Straughn said it was going to cost more money to build any flyovers today than 15 years ago, “so you either come to a realisation that it has to be done and we are going to do it and it’s going to cost x and therefore all of us as a consequence of that. . . decision now would have to pay more or suck it up and get stuck in the traffic . . .”.