Why did the chicken cross the road?

Given all the difficulties that we are having to endure with the renovation of the highways in Barbados, it's enivitable that our eyes stare at certain obvious problems and perhaps glance over others.

Imagine that you have negotiated the Wildey-Y triangle and are now heading north towards Warrens, nearing the Bussa roundabout. You pass the CBC building and the road heads downhill to the roundabout. Your car, like it or not, is picking up speed. The open road for a stretch, as you know the roundabout is coming but clear road ahead for about 400 metres. Then, whoa! The man in front of you slams on his brakes and his car comes to a screeching halt. It's a bit wet, so you try to brake gently, but you start to skid. You see the concrete barrier on your right, so you try to manoeuver to the left hoping to hit the sidewalk rather than concrete and maybe oncoming traffic. Then you see why the car in front stopped. There is an old lady with her shopping bag and two young children trying to cross the highway. Wait! There is a marked and signed pedestrian crossing, about 100 metres before the roundabout. In the middle of a downhill stretch of a highway! This must be a joke! Too late. Your car hits the old lady and takes her and her shopping on a short space walk, and she lands behind your car. The children look bewildered, as she had managed to shove them out of the way. Ok. No need to get more gruesome.

It was imaginary as far as the tragedy goes, but it is a strong likelihood. My wife just told me that she witnessed a near tragedy on the stretch heading toward Mall Internationale this last week. I do not recall any visible warning say 200 metres away that a crossing is imminent. There is a sign just by the cross, but that's a tad late. I cannot recall ever seeing a four-lane highway with a crossing stuck in the middle; sometimes the pedestrians' needs are dealt with by having a traffic light, that is both visible from a distance and where drivers would be alerted to the need to slow down. If there is serous talk of flyovers then someone needs to think seriously about a walkway that goes over the highway. The need for crossing places is obvious because of the way that the highway has cut between parts of the island, but they need to be well placed and well signed. At the Samuel Jackson Prescod Polytechnic we see the common situation of people just taking their chances to cross between the traffic; not so hard while road works continue but likely very hazardous once the roadworks are complete.

A blog is not the voice of anyone other than its author, but it can help raise a cry that some will hear. I hope that someone responsible for highway design and road safety in Barbados reviews quickly what is to my mind a potential disaster designed to happen.