The Southland had all the attention last evening as hundreds of patrons flocked to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy for the all-important Super eight qualifier between West Indies and New Zealand. It resulted in traffic that backed up for hours along the Solomon Hochoy Highway. This is despite a Park and Ride system implemented to prevent traffic congestion to the venue. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley who attended the match said he experienced the situation first hand and noted definite room for improvement.
00:00Well, the Southland had all the attention last evening, as hundreds of patrons flocked to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy
00:06for the all-important Super 8 qualifier between the West Indies and New Zealand.
00:12It resulted in traffic that backed up for hours along the Solomon Ho Choi Highway.
00:17This is despite a park-and-ride system implemented to prevent traffic congestion to the venue.
00:22The Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, who attended the match, said he experienced the situation firsthand
00:27and noted definite room for improvement.
00:30I did see it last night myself. I was on the way to the game and I saw some people in standstill traffic.
00:37And I was pretty sure that they were not going to get inside before the game started or even well into the game.
00:43And then, of course, when everybody's leaving at the same time after the game,
00:47you need to have routes out that people can flow out. We don't have those routes yet.
00:53Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, reflecting on the park-and-ride system set up to improve traffic to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy,
01:01he indicated they are making strides, but more work needs to be done.
01:05We made some improvements, but certainly not enough.
01:08We have to be able to organize access and egress in such a way that people can, in a reasonable time,
01:14get to the ground, park, get inside, and when it's over, leave in a reasonable time.
01:20We're not there yet. We still have a lot more work to do.
01:23And fortunately, the one good thing about it is that there's space around the venue to allow more infrastructure to be built.
01:31And I'm hoping that in the not-too-distant future, what you saw last night and the inconveniences there would be a thing of the past.
01:40On Monday, the local organizing committee revealed the plan which patrons hoped would work.
01:45Park-and-ride is a system implemented by the local organizing committee that allows spectators to park their vehicles at designated venues
01:54and utilize a shuttle service to travel to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, thereby providing a convenient and efficient transportation option that avoids traffic congestion on game day.
02:05While this was easier said than done during peak traffic hours,
02:08patrons reported a lack of order to get onto the bus at South Park and return to their parking locations when departing.
02:15Some patrons indicated that there was some uncertainty as well as to which bus would take them to the Petrochin location as opposed to South Park.
02:24Nevertheless, they rushed every bus that arrived after 1 a.m.
02:28Some posted videos online appealing for improvement as they chose to walk along the dangerous road out of a need to get home.
02:38For some of them, which included children and the elderly who chose to wait for access to a bus, it was a frustrating process.
03:08It's just complaining about trying to get home. People have to work tomorrow. This is craziness.
03:15So you had any issues at all parking? Did you get any issues parking?
03:18Yeah, we had issues with actually parking at South Park because they didn't have a proper park to get into.
03:24We had to kind of park on the grass kind of thing. Nothing was coordinated.
03:28They had no ushers, nothing direct anywhere to park, designated parking zones, that kind of thing.
03:33That was craziness. You just had to kind of face it.
03:37Will you be coming back tomorrow?
03:39Not really.
03:40Others indicated that parking at Petrochin was less congested, but returning there was a hassle as well.
03:46The event also attracted tourists, who also braved the 3-4 hour traffic jam to watch the home team play.
03:53We haven't got in yet, but looking forward to it.
03:56Did you have to cope with traffic?
03:58There was a lot of traffic, yeah.
04:00So who are you supporting today?
04:02West Indies.
04:03And who are you supporting today?
04:05Windies all the way.
04:06Visiting Trinidad?
04:07Yeah, yeah, visiting Trinidad.
04:08Alright, enjoy the experience guys.
04:09Thank you very much.
04:10Well, after beating the traffic and the wait, fans got what they wanted as the West Indies went on to beat New Zealand
04:17in spectacular fashion to book their spot in the Super 8s.
04:20I'm Sergio Dufour for TV6.
04:23In a release issued by the local organizing committee, they acknowledged and apologized to fans
04:28for the challenges they faced in being transported to and from the venue.
04:33They indicated that they are working towards improving the gaps with the system.
04:37They also urged patrons to have patience in accessing the shuttles.
04:51Tonight we're asking you, were you disappointed with the park and ride system for the ICC World Cup game
04:56at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy?
04:58To vote, text YES or NO to the number 7664886 or 7664TV6.
05:03We'll have the results for you at the end of this newscast.
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