The department of land transport has clarified that the traffic congestion on the Mont Fleuri road is due to the International School Seychelles and its failure to meet conditions it had agreed to with the Seychelles Planning Authority.

In an interview with the press yesterday, the principal secretary for land transport, Patrick Andre, noted that claims made by the International School Seychelles (ISS) management that traffic congestion can also be attributed to the other schools in the vicinity – Mont Fleuri primary and secondary and L’Ecole Française – is not founded.

Rather, Mr Andre stated that congestion on this stretch of the road during peak hours has been aggravated by the ISS’ new extension which took up parking space and increased the intake of students at the private school, as well as the private school’s non-compliance to conditions to ensure smooth traffic flow.

The conditions which the previous management of the school had agreed to with relevant authorities some three years ago, before receiving approval for the extension, included:

Ensuring that there were ample spaces in the parking area for parents to maneuver when dropping off and collecting their children. In order for this to happen, teachers were expected to find an alternative parking area for their transports.

Making use of the lay-by provided to them by the Seychelles Land Transport Authority on the Bois de Rose Avenue, so that students could cross the foot bridge to safely enter the school compound.

Setting up shuttle rides and carpooling systems to minimise the number of cars dropping and picking up ISS students.

However, these conditions have not been complied with and Mr Andre stated that the authorities are in discussion with the current ISS management to remediate this.

“It is important to note that this extension was not approved but there were some lobbying that were done and we reached a compromise. This compromise was working well with the former management but we did not expect this drastic change overnight,” stated PS Andre.

“From our recent investigation and assessment of the congestion, most of these conditions have not been met. In view of that, all of the authorities concerned met and discussed on the issue and the way forward.

“The new management of the school was, I’m pretty sure, not aware of all the conditions that had been set by the previous management. Because of this, they have implemented things in their own way which is now creating a bigger problem,” stated PS Andre.

“So we are in consultation with all concerned parties to address all these issues and will take measures we feel are appropriate to minimise congestion there. On top of that, the planning authority has also written to the school to inform them that they are not following the conditions set for the extension of the school, as previously agreed.”

PS Andre added that assessments conducted by the department of land transport has shown that there are no tailbacks at the Mont Fleuri schools, which have adequate space for cars doing drop-offs and pick-ups, nor at L’Ecole Française, whose parents often make use of the lay-by.

A tailback is a line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion.

He added that the continued congestion at Mont Fleuri, even as public schools are on a two-week holiday, shows that the issue is mainly at the ISS.

Mr Andre nonetheless acknowledged that there are some road issues that need to be dealt with by the department of land transport and the SLTA.

Parinda Herath, chief executive of the SLTA, explained that the authority is working on three road projects, under the Victoria Traffic Management Master Plan, that will directly improve traffic flow coming down from the south to town, both on the Mont Fleuri road and Bois de Rose Avenue.

The first is the widening of the Bois de Rose Avenue, at the bottle neck near the Vehicle Testing Station, to create a new lane for transport heading to town.

“Once completed, this bottle neck will no longer exist and we expect traffic to flow better and reduce congestion on the Bois de Rose Avenue,” explained Mr Herath.

The second project being undertaken by the SLTA is to turn the Plaisance roundabout into a dual-lane roundabout which will ensure that it will be able to accommodate more vehicles.

The Plaisance roundabout is among the few single lane roundabouts on Mahé, which causes some disorderly driving and land has been acquired nearby for the enlargement of this roundabout.

“This will also improve the movement of traffic and bring about some discipline in that roundabout which serves transports coming in and going to Plaisance, Mont Fleuri, Les Mamelles and La Louise,” added Mr Herath.

Mr Herath added that the construction of the dual-lane roundabout will also see the creation of two lanes going down from the roundabout pass the Butcher’s Grill and towards the Roche Caïman roundabout.

“Our third project is to construct a new roundabout at the junction of Forêt Noire and the road we recently constructed which lead from Bois de Rose to Mont Fleuri/Forêt Noire. This roundabout will also facilitate the movement of traffic which is on the Mont Fleuri road and give motorists the option to join the Bois de Rose Avenue. It might not improve congestion as such, but it will make sure there’s more discipline on the road to improve circulation, so parents who drop off their kids at the school will have the option to do a U-turn at the roundabout to go back south,” explained Mr Herath.

The three projects have been slated to start early next year, depending on the budget.

Source: Seychelles Nation