Costs to the economy

The recent attacks on the army commander and the defence secretary in the city has created a kind of paranoia amongst the authorities and led to haphazard traffic restrictions.

As our story says and our picture shows, the new parking restrictions and uni-flow has led to the loss of business for many establishments particularly during the festive season.

No one grudges security considerations for the president and the country’s VVIPs but is there any planning in these new arrangements or is it the bull-in-the-china-shop approach where the authorities react to situations instead of properly-planned exercises?

What happens if there are more bombs in the city? Does that mean more roads would be closed and more parking restrictions enforced?

Over the years, the parking constraints and uni-flow systems have led to closures in businesses and a drop in business particularly down Duplication Road. That impact is now being felt in most parts of the city – also Galle Road -- where even parking at the allocated parking bays are not permitted or decided on the whims and fancies of the policeman on duty.

The traffic snarls and congestion is costing the economy Rs 30 billion a year, up from Rs 10 billion more than 10 years ago. The cost, calculated by traffic planning specialists at University of Moratuwa, is based on international measurements and designed to suit local needs. These costs include additional fuel consumption, wear and tear of vehicles and loss of productivity due to long hours spent on the road.

The most important element of this cost is the additional fuel that one uses to get to destination A from B, which adds to the Sri Lanka’s burgeoning fuel import costs.

We repeat security is important but isn’t the convenience of the public also paramount in devising these plans?

Prof Amal Kumarage, one of Sri Lanka’s foremost traffic planning experts, says they have not been consulted in many of the recent changes.

While non-consultation with experts – for that matter -- on any issue is not unusual nowadays, Prof Kumarage raises a valid point saying, “Our university has traffic models. The system could have been simulated on the computer to see if it is viable and the public could have been spared the hassle.” He says the current uni flow system will only worsen the problem adding that by all that has been done is transferring the bottlenecks from place to another.

Badly affected are city hotels trying to woo local customers during the festive season in a period when foreign tourist arrivals are also dropping.

Parking at the Ceylon Intercontinental car park for example can be suddenly curtailed due to security reasons while traffic stoppages – not even the public is allowed to walk on the roads – are common outside the Cinnamon Grand when a VVIP motorcade is on the move.

Most tourists planning to spend a day in the city now prefer to drive to their out-of-Colombo destination straight from the airport to avoid the congestion and tension-filled city with armed soldiers at most junctions.The Moratuwa University studies also show that the number of vehicles has reduced by upto 25 percent due to the congestion and parking restrictions since last October.Prof Kumarage says no one is concerned about proper traffic planning which – in the way it is practised now – can only succeed if public transportation improves.

Colombo’s loss however is countered by gains from nearby town centres like Nugegoda, Dehiwela, Wattala, Rajagiriya where the economies are growing while the congestion is also increasing, again due to lack of proper planning.

Studies show that more people are shopping and doing business outside Colombo and closer to where they live. It is cheaper, takes less time, is less dangerous and certainly less stressful.

1996 saw the first outflow of Colombo businesses to the periphery after the Central Bank building was attacked, Prof Kumarage says.

The current crisis is seeing the second wave of business migration with businesses moving out to growing towns like Rajagiriya, Wattala and Nugegoda.