Persons are being asked to continue to adhere to the No Entry signs placed at both entrances of the bypass road that connects Fair Hall to the Villa Fountain Road.

Head of the Traffic Department of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force Inspector Kenneth John said on Wednesday that the signs were placed (one in Fair Hall and one on Villa Fountain Road) so as to stop incidents of congestion and accidents in the area.

This bypass road has over the last few months become very popular with minivan drivers who use it as a shortcut to get to and from Fair Hall.

Last Wednesday at the offices of the Traffic Branch on Bay Street, Inspector John explained that this particular portion of road is a very busy area while being narrow and winding at the same time.

“When traffic flows in both directions there is always a congestion and a lot of accidents happen in that area and to us at the traffic department it was only a matter of time before something serious happened there”, said the traffic boss who added, “for us it is more about safety and a lot of people are saying that this is a good thing we have done by placing the signs there”. He added that sometimes motorists would meet up in an area where the two vehicles could not pass at the same time and no one would want to move. “Sometimes we had to send one of our cyclists to solve the problem”, revealed Inspector John.

While in the pass persons were allowed to travel in both directions at anytime of the day, traffic can now only legally flow from  Fair Hall to the Villa Fountain Road between 10.45 a.m. to 6 a.m. and from the Villa Fountain Road to Fair Hall between 5.45 a.m.to 11 a.m., daily. Inspector John said that the 15 minutes break is for the vehicles that are traveling along the road to clear before the other side starts to flow.

“Within a 15 minutes period traffic will be at a standstill and the ones in between the signs will have time to clear”, explained Inspector John who said that since the introduction of the sign over a month now there has been no accidents and traffic has been flowing better in the area.

He added that the planting of the signs in this area is part of the Traffic Branch’s thrust to create safer roads for motorists and pedestrians alike. The Inspector also said that September will be designated Road Safety Month and a number of activities will be held. Traffic Police visiting schools and various communities to talk about road safety is one of the events planned for September while a road safety drive/motorcade from Argyle to Kingstown are among the scheduled activities.

Inspector John encourages, “drive safely and obey the speed limit; the speed limit for buses and trucks is 15 miles per hour and for bikes and cars it is 20 miles per hour in towns”.