AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye traffic jams in San Pedro

Dolphin has some very good points here. I don't think the real danger is in the carts and the tourist. Yes, they are the reason for the congestion, but congestion is sometimes a good thing, it does slow people down. One of the main reasons we have not fixed the roads in my community is because it slows the traffic down. I agree the real danger is in the larger vehicles. You've got to remember most of these streets were not designed for vehicular traffic. The larger vehicles make it very dangerous for foot traffic and bikes. The recent fatalities been caused by delivery trucks and taxis striking pedestrians and bicyclist? One thing that could be considered is creating a road that would act as a type of bypass around downtown with parking areas so people coming from the outer areas could park, then walk into town. And closing more of the downtown streets to vehicular traffic, except those with special permits. This is not an easy task for Town Council but it's something that needs to be addressed, it's only going to get worse.
Forget the golf cart, try walking, from the looks of things I think more of us could use some exercise anyway.

Here's a business idea for someone out there. How about a small solar powered bus that could run a regularly scheduled north/south route and would be allowed special access over the new bridge. This would really be beneficial to the workers getting to their jobs, children getting to school, tourist getting into town and would help alleviate some of the congestion. Just a thought.

Not a bad thought, but solar power is not practical to run on a constant basis, more for a personal vehicle that does not travel far or much. Also with the road quality, it would need to be heavy duty and four wheel drive. Many visitors do not realize how bad the road gets in rainy season.

"I don't understand, I am trying to warn people about the dangers of travelling around San Pedro and the responses I get are not "thanks", but the standard excuses from the members of this board."

Excuse me? I asked a simple question in an attempt to clarify the situation based on my experience while on the island. I offered no excuse for inconsiderate drivers. As for those one way streets there is not one single sign posted showing which streets are one way. Fortunately, we took the time to read the map to find out which way was which. We obeyed the rules. The worst traffic offenders, on that day, was the taxi drivers and police. The majority of the taxis did not have passengers but they sure were in a hurry to get somewhere. The police vehicle, wanting to get ahead of us, about run over us when we were unable to pull over fast enough to suit them. We had the cart for that one day only. The remainder of the week we made us of our feet.

Thank you for telling us how bad the traffic has become. I will remember that on the next trip down and be prepared for it.

Dolphin,

You have made some excellent points and you have some really good ideas. We were on the island the evening the boy was struck by the taxi. The police truck drove right by us.

We are moving to SP soon and have had to make some decisions on what to bring or not and what our impact will be on this great little island. We are bringing bikes and HOPE to purchase a golf cart on island, after our arrival.

I appreciate your thoughts on folks making a "commitment" to their home. We already think of SP as "home" and hope we can make a contribution and not add to the woes.

Thanks for your insights and ideas.

cindyb

Thanks Tom. In addition to the increased traffic and the neglect for stop signs, one way street signs ( they are out there!) etc. there is another consideration. We are talking about a fairly small landmass here and how much pollution can it take? How much dust can we take? How many people have to die?
And by the way, the joke about the driving goes...."I drive wherever there are no potholes", which, if it were true, would create an even bigger problem, actually it is to some extent true! So no, I don't want to "lighten up", I want things to become safe for all of us that live here and for all of you that visit and right now they are not. By the way, drunk driving is never safe and always illegal, even in Belize! Ya, it might be better than on any freeway, but that is no excuse.

Drunk driving, of course, is never safe. Me thinks that the majority of people on this message board are not "spring break" or "girls or guys gone wild" types. Having a drink or two versus being drunk are different animals. My post was not intended as an excuse.

Safety first is my motto. In an abundance of caution, if I feel I am unable to drive (whether golf cart, vehicle, etc.), I will take a taxi or walk. I deal with accidents for a living. The vast majority involve people following too closely/driving too fast for conditions. I have almost felt like I was going to be mowed down by a golf cart or taxi in San Pedro because of this, with no traffic jam in sight. The solution is to stay far to the right and let them pass, go slow, be responsible and attentive to your surroundings, pedestrians and dogs.

Regardless, accidents do happen. I don't have the answers for San Pedro's problems. Penalties for DUI here in the states are stiff and enough of a deterrent to not do it. Again, Kippe, it is a good heads up and a concern for all of us who love to visit or those of you who live there.

I wonder what would happen, if there were no "TOURISTS' in "SAN PEDRO' ?

Not much, obviously.

Indeed Catatonic.

My sincere apologies Kippe for not being aware of other versions of the driving joke. It was told to me by a Belizean cabbie, so I thought it was a good source. I shall be more suspicious of joke sources in future. And please, please don't lighten up. Goodness gracious, San Pedro needs stress. I noticed a distinct lack of it while I was there and it was like something was missing. On the one day of nine on Ambergris that we hired a golf cart (We walked the two miles to town and the two miles to our hotel twice daily for our outings into town and only used the golf cart to explore the north end) and I was deeply concerned about the lack of warnings about sunburn in a golf cart. I would urge the town council to post signs warning tourists of this risk and place an obligation on the cart hire companies to provide high factor sun screen to every customer. As for needing a pee when you hit the north end and there are no toilets...well everybody is clearly just too relaxed about public safety there...not to mention being barefoot everywhere, having bbqs in public places, no lifeguards, the liberal use of swimming costumes when there is clearly a cry for public nudity...dear oh dear...when I get back to San Pedro I'll start a petition.