Plans are afoot to construct two more roundabouts in the country, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson Monday announced when he commissioned Guyana’s first major roundabout at Kitty, Georgetown.
The areas identified for the new roundabouts are the Mandela/Sheriff Street/ Homestretch Avenue junction in Georgetown and the Timehri junction on the East Bank of Demerara.
Roundabouts worldwide facilitate the smoother and quicker flow of traffic at road intersections.
Minister Patterson explained that those outcomes will only be possible if road users follow the rules of the roundabout.
He warned that for the first few months, police officers will be on site at the $79M Kitty Roundabout to ensure drivers learn the protocols and to charge those who break the rules.
“My plea to all the road users is to use the roundabout responsibly,” Minister Patterson urged.
The Kitty Roundabout is officially opened to road users and demonstration videos on how to properly use the road network are being circulated.
The speed limit when inside the roundabout is 30km/h and in the event of an emergency vehicle approaching, drivers are to exit the roundabout before stopping.
More works are needed to complete the roundabout including the installation of stoplights, pedestrian crossings, and the landscaping in the centre.
The idea is to plant flowers from around the Caribbean, in keeping with the theme of Carifesta Avenue.
Minister Patterson explained that the Kitty Roundabout is just part of a bigger vision his Ministry has for the area.
Next on the agenda is to develop the Kitty Seawalls Waterfront from the pump station to the bandstand.
“We will be upgrading it into a commercial space with kiosks [booths],” Minister Patterson stated. He expects the first report from a consultancy firm sometime in October.
“That will give us a full scope of what will be possible, the cost, it has to be green,” Minister Patterson said.
Complementing the Ministry’s road improvement programme for the year is the installation of LED streetlights in a number of areas including Wakenaam, Supenaam, Anna Regina, Meten-Mere-Zorg, Bourda Market Square, Aubrey Barker Road, Ithaca, Wismar, among others.
