Being A True Nigerian is the ability to adapt to Traffic especially for those of us who stay in the big Cities such as Lagos. Festac Town is located on the mainland and the residents are used to traffic especially in the mornings and late evenings .
Traffic most especially affects those who work on the island and few on the mainland. On a bad or probably good day , if you don’t take some precautions , you can be stuck in traffic for like 2 hours.
But at the same time this traffic can be minimised even though cannot be totally avoided.
So here are a few tips for you to Cope /Manage and Avoid This Traffic.
1. Leave your house early enough
Yes , this is very important . When i say leaving early , i mean from 4 AM if possible. Now it all depend s on you . You would be lucky enough if you drive which would be easier . But most times Yellow buses start operation from as early as 4.30 am .
Also the BRT buses start operation from as early as 5 AM or thereabout , which is when the first bus takes off. If you don’t leave early , yo could be caught up in that deadly traffic sometimes.
quick tip:
2. Alternative routes
But wait , are there really alternative routes out of festac ? It all depends on where you are headed.
Routes such as 1st Gate – Mile 2 , 1st gate – Apple Junction – 2nd rainbow , 2nd Gate (i really don’t like this route especially if you are headed to the island as you would have to turn round first due to the new constructions on the road.) – Maza Maza ,3rd Gate , Alakija .
So as i said earlier on , it depends on you . If there are alternative routes you know , kindly drop it in the comment box below. You could be helping someone.
3. Leave after Rush Hour
I tag Rush hour as from 9:30 am, by this time the roads are a bit free especially the almighty Mile 2 axis. Also Leaving after Rush hour at night at about 10pm.
4. Leave work early
Yes i dread the evening traffic as it comes with so much stress. After leaving the day’s work and working so hard , then you face the serious traffic . Those coming from the island , 3rd mainland bridge traffic , orile traffic etc.. It can be terrible. Traffic builds up from about 4PM when people start heading home.
Everyone is trying to get home as soon as possible , so there would be loads of traffic which can sometimes last for 5 hours. So to cut this off . try and leave work as early as 4 pm if possible. or as late as 9 pm.
5. Use The Public Transport
I tell some friends i know , that using the public transport is sometimes easier. It can be chaotic , yes i agree , it can be unpleasant sometimes but at the same time it can save you the stress of driving for hours.
BRT is another bus system that can be a little more comfortable.
6. Traffic Sources
Try and always to listen to Traffic Radio 96.1 FM ,www.lagostrafficradio.org which is solely dedicated to reporting traffic updates if you can especially if you drive. Not forgetting other social media services such as Traffic Chief, Gidi Traffic, Traffic Butter, Traffix among others to crowdsource reports on happeings on roads across Lagos.
Websites which include www.trafficchiefng.com which enables you to get traffic alerts on your phone when you download the mobile app, Another interesting website which also has a traffic talk mobile app is www.tsaboin.com/livecams where you can get access to live cams and traffic alerts on the go and thus watch the most recent traffic videos.
7. Know Your Routes
Either heading to mainland , island or interconnecting both , it is very important to know your major routes and their associated short-cuts. you should know how to connect each location using the bridges, highways, major and minor roads and streets.
8. Water Ways
Water Transport is known to be faster and easier to use in order to beat this traffic. But i advice you to be careful. And if you have to leave early , please use other means.
I sometimes feel that Island traffic is worse than Mainland Traffic when either heading to or leaving Festac . Do yo agree ?
