If the public investment in infrastructure is not proportional to the number of cars, the convenience of having a car will disappear: lack of space, road degradation and traffic jams will progressively make cars inconvenient and a nuisance in Paradise.
Health and Education are development priorities, but obviously the existence of a “car worship” in Paradise makes a great opportunity for car dealers. The proportion of the public Expenditure spent in cars, maintenance, fuel and development of car centric infrastructure shows where, the facto, the Public priorities are in Paradise: more expenditure in cars means less in sanitation…
Used cars, new cars and car rentals are profitable businesses in Paradise and are growing along with the dependency in fossil fuels. Suppliers count with citizens returning from Australia and New Zealand with cash. They promise great exclusive benefits of driving Big “Sports Utility Vehicle”. SUVs advertisement promotes values such as:
Power, Prestige, Strength, Autonomy, Exclusivity, The “Freedom to go anywhere in Paradise”. .
Subtle photos with SUVs, animals and plants like living in symbiotic relation in the Wild promoting the “energy efficient” and “eco conscious values” of the popular SUVs brands.
But, the reality is: roads are already full of cars. Public investment in roads in Port Vila are car centric. Do not consider alternatives such dedicated lanes for public transport, bicycles of even foot path for pedestrians .
SUV demand more space to circulate and parking. Trees are cut to give space for cars. Remember the palm trees in the roundabout below ? It was cut by a “infrastructure improvement project that promised to improve the traffic flow and fix sanitation in the Capital City and Protect the Erakor Lagoon“.
SUVs pollute more and are less energy efficient. Often, SUVs have one single driver…
The number of car owners and drivers are increasing. Roads become a source of degradation of life in Paradise: Stress, Unproductivity and Economic loss, Inequity, Pollution, Physical and Mental Health negative impacts, more pressure on limited Public Resources to invest in car centric infrastructure, and less in Education and Health. Social injustice. Vanuatu may be moving fast on the way on losing its happiness…
Owning a car is just for few who can afford it. Or, those who cannot afford but are trapped in a prejudice that the car is the only solution for commuting. A deceptive sign of progress and development. Sori Tumas!
Without traffic, cars can move fast. But cars are heavy and the laws of physic are universal: Accidents with cars kill more than any other mode of transport. Accidents increase with the number of cars. In islands, cars become abandoned in the end of its life cycle…More rubbish. There are abandoned cars everywhere, leaking hazardous substances into the environment.
There are, at least, three compelling reasons for Port Vila to change its “car centric infrastructure development”
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- Active mobility – walking or cycling – is a great way of combating NCDs
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a significant health concern in Vanuatu. The four major NCDs—cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases—are responsible for between 52-60% of all premature mortality in the country.
NCD Policy and Strategic Plan 2021-2030 (gov.vu)
- 84% of the Population Port Vila lives within a radius of 3KM of the CBD.
Port Vila population is estimated to be around 61,424 in 2014. If we consider a radius of 3km from Port Vila CBD 51.582 lives there within this radius. The highest percentage in the Pacific capitals.
Calculate the estimated population within any area on a map (maps.ie)
- Vanuatu declared Climate Emergency.
The transport sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Vanuatu. It accounts for approximately **52.7%** of the country’s total emissions⁴. Vanuatu imports over 56 million litres of fuel annually, with diesel making up the largest share at 63%. Of this, land transport alone consumes about 50%³.
Vanuatu_NDC_Update_Report_r2.pdf (gov.vu)
Individual and Public Policies decisions in choosing or privilege a mode of transport in Paradise – a community focused unique #1 place in the Happy Planet – should consider: Environment, Individuals and overall Wellbeing of the Society
Those who work for some years in a city have the possibility to measure a trend on how traffic is getting congested at certain times or places, drivers learn to avoid congestions by diverting to a longer route (with higher fuel consumption) or traveling earlier, or after, the peak time: Adaptation against Mitigation…
Some drivers may also be conscious of the damage they are causing to the Public Health and the environment, but most do not even think about it: Car is an entitlement for those who can afford… Other active commuters, pedestrians and cyclists that not pollute are victims and it seems fair to drivers and government. No penalty, no disincentive to pollute and possible kill others.
There is no Carbon Tax included in the price of fuel. Even if a symbolic percentage, could be a way of raise awareness, particularly in a country with People’s representatives declared climate emergency. This could be deterrent of the use of cars, helping commuters and authorities to invest in alternative active mobility solutions, while decarbonizing the transport sector: The Paradise is Tax Free and reluctant to change. Even if that facilitate tax avoidance from other countries that are struggling to get the Climate Finance, so necessary to the Pacific.
In Port Vila, public transport users, may need to gamble and be attentive to choose their bus, as the route chosen may have an implication on the time expected to reach the destine, particularly if they “get stuck” in the between an abundance of private cars: Buses are considered the public enemy number one and very inconvenient for the car drivers that say “I was stuck in the traffic” without realizing that drivers themselves are traffic…
The decisions on choosing the appropriate mode of transport – that works for a specific commuter – should consider impacts to the overall individual wellbeing and health, including sugar levels in the blood, the environment and overall community wellbeing.
Lets observe the trends and pressures particularly those who live for some years the Capital of Paradise. The amount of trees cut due to the infrastructure car centric development. If nothing change, expect less trees around in Port Vila.
(Despite of the “Port Vila Greening Master Plan“, another big and majestic “Christmas tree” was removed near the National Parliament, to give space to a car park from a new rental car company)
Obviously, if you live 10 Km from the place you want to commute in a daily basis the public transport or a car seems quite convenient, at least till the moment you approach a city and the peak time congestions.
Privileging cars makes our cities loud, polluted, dangerous, and covered in so much asphalt that we can’t afford to maintain it.
Cars occupy the road and need parking space. Occupy the foot paths, green areas, the curbside.
With the increased number of cars in the streets, and drivers become less patience and less accommodating to other divers and road users. The pedestrians are clearly facing more difficulties to cross the streets: There are no crosswalks is Vanuatu roads are made for cars.
Even if not intended, it is becoming clear that there is an ongoing process of marginalization of the increasing number of cyclists, pedestrians, and people with disability.
Footpaths built by public funds are even destroyed to build car access to private properties and car deal businesses.
And these are the direct consequences: unlevel of the path make it impossible for wheel chairs to circulate. Disable citizens are not welcomed in our roads. Footpaths can be extremely dangerous and are getting worst, despite of intentional road infrastructure development funded by donors. Why?! Because are Motorized Vehicle focused. Not People focused.
(picture social media Vanuatu Politics and Home News)
It is clear that the few infrastructures development is car centric. Again, with no intention the existent model is creates inequity and socially discriminatory, makes it discriminatory de facto – and nobody notices it : car centric infrastructure became the norm in Paradise.
As it is not illegal to have a car, it is not illegal to pollute, it is ok to spread black smoke to pedestrians. Pollution health effects are real and kill. Disables need to commuting in the streets, as there is no sidewalks. If a pedestrian is run over by a car, is his own responsibility. There is no or cross walk of infrastructure signals to protect pedestrians: ego car centrism prevails.
Inequity is now the norm, as roads are not designed for pedestrians, disables or cyclists. Cross walk or road infrastructure for pedestrians is not a common practice. The infrastructure public budget priorities goes for new car centric roads and filling of pot holes with coral. The private savings from those who can afford are “invested” in SUVs. Actually, a bad investment as cars were not built to be traffic. It is expensive, pollutes with no purpose, is not productive or efficient, increases NCD due to inactivity time on people’s life, make people lose their nerves and worst.
Most of the workers coming back from RSE will, fairly as it has been a long-time dream, buy a car. Hopefully, the “car worship” may not be sustainable much longer, due to the current infrastructure being already full of cars. Cars are not producing the expected effect to commuters and their families. Public Policies need to be smart. It is not necessary to copy the same development paths of countries went the wrong way, and are now retrofitting infrastructure to allow space for active mobility.
With the current status of Port Vila, it would be probably wise to commuters and authorities to evaluate their decisions. What do they want from a road? A place where cars are traffic or a place where cars flow in safe speeds, freeing space for pedestrians, disable, cyclists and green areas and trees.
VANUATU HAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE ITS LIFESTYLE: AND KEEP THE SELF-REPORTED #1 POSITION IN THE HAPPY PLANET INDEX
Port Vila doesn’t need to repeat the mistake from other developing countries that now are struggling to find funds to retrofit infrastructure development to transform car centric roads into human centric roads: Cars can easily make Vanuatu’s drivers losing its smile. Pedestrians and Cyclists still smile in spite of the challenges of moving across traffic jams with high concentration of air pollution.
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GUIDE TO MOBILITY FOR MOBILITY FOR LIVABLE PACIFIC CITIES, an initiative of the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility , a blueprint for revolutionizing urban transportation in the Pacific, making it more sustainable, safe, affordable and people-friendly.
Here is the 15th PRIF Community of Practice Webinar Series recommendable to Ministry of Infrastructure, Department of Urban Planning, Port Vila Municipality, Ministry of Health, Department of Tourism,…
1/9: Ensuring Safe Urban Speeds
The inaugural webinar highlights the critical role of safe urban speeds. Discover how effective speed management can drastically improve road safety and breathe new life into our city streets, making them more conducive to walking, cycling, and public transit. We’ll dissect the current speed management issues plaguing Pacific Island Countries, unveil innovative interventions, and chart a course for action that could see urban road speed limits reduced to 30 km/hr.
2 /9: Designing Streets to Prioritize Walking
This session focused on how to prioritize pedestrians, cyclists, and micromobility users over traffic. We will discuss the ways old design guidelines encourage car dependency, and how modern design guidelines can contribute to creating towns and cities that are better for people by making streets more equitable and giving people more options for moving around safely.
3/9: Tactical Urbanism-Rapid Street Transformation
Focused on ‘tactical urbanism’ in street transformations. Tactical urbanism is a design methodology and engagement strategy. It implements temporary ‘tactical demonstrations’ and ‘trial interventions’ to test living versions of designs with communities in real-time, focused on delivering streets that put people first, making them safer and more livable. Whereas traditional infrastructure development in the Pacific requires large capital investments and multiple years for planning, design and implementation, tactical urbanism can deliver infrastructure improvements in weeks, at minimal costs and using materials available at local hardware stores. Proposed measures to be trialed using this method include pedestrian crossings, traffic calming, intersection narrowing, plazas and parklets, footpaths and bicycle paths.
4/9: Education Programs to Promote Active Mobility
focus on educational and promotional strategies that involve providing information, tools, and skills to both school students and adults. Encouraging active mobility includes improving access to bicycles and micromobility devices, organizing community events, actively communicating with the public, and addressing the issue of stray dogs.
Contribution from the Vanuatu Cycling Federation in the Webinar: https://www.theprif.org/community-of-practice/15th-prif-community-practice-49-education-programs-promote-active-mobility
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