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Motorists speak on traffic congestion
Enita Cherewo, Community Radio Harare (CORAH)
January 24, 2013

Motorists in Harare say the city fathers should find ways of reducing traffic congestion which has characterised the central business district, thereby making driving difficult during the day.

Ephraim Chifamba, a motorist, said Harare's reluctance to resurface roads which are marred by potholes is contributing to congestion as drivers reduce speed while trying to avoid potholes.

'The poor state of our roads is making it difficult for us motorists to navigate through potholes. Because of this, drivers are sometimes forced to travel at less than 10km/hr and this contributes to traffic congestion. For me the solution to the problem is upgrading and regular maintenance of our roads,' he said.

Irene Chikomba who drives daily through the central business district (CBD) to her Graniteside workplace says defunct traffic lights and irresponsible motorists are to blame for congestion in the CBD. 'There is need for the city council to attend to traffic lights as most of them are not functioning. There is also irresponsible driving in Harare with motorists deliberately ignoring to observe rules of the road. We see a lot of this happening at traffic lights where drivers proceed when the robot signals red. This leaves other drivers with the right of way puzzled and remain in the middle of the road to avoid accidents and by so doing, congestion will be created,' she said.

Percy Toriro who is an urban planning expert told Talking Harare that the Harare City Council should be responsive to the increasing traffic. 'As a result of improving economic situation, a lot of people are buying vehicles, and it is the duty of the City Fathers to be responsive to the situation. I mean, there is need for proper planning and implementation of managing traffic flow. This entails a cocktail of measures which involves the traffic engineering and management measures, there should be manpower that makes sure traffic lights are working to ensure smooth traffic movement. There also come management issues to do with proper parking bays and ensuring that there are no bottlenecks in the system,' advised Toriro.

Efforts to get a comment from council were fruitless as its spokesperson Leslie Gwindi's mobile phone went answered till the time of going to press.

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