Clogged traffic aided van Beek shooter

The shooting of Maria van Beek is troubling on many levels. The obvious being why would anyone want to shoot another person but that has become all too common in our country of late. If indeed, as is being suggested, there was an attempt to execute Mrs. van Beek, the Commissioner of Insurance, as a result on her role as Judicial Manager of the failed Clico then who would want her dead? And why would anyone want to attack her of all people, when she is not responsible for the failure of Clico but was merely executing her role as the Commissioner of Insurance? The company having failed, she stepped in to do a mopping up exercise. Why then attack her? Why see her as having done wrong?

And the execution of the actual crime itself leaves one frightened. Anyone from Linden, East Bank of Demerara, West Bank and West Coast of Demerara who travels to Georgetown to transact business or attend to other matters nine times out of ten would use the Lombard Street access route on which Mrs. van Beek was shot. During the day the area where she was shot usually sees traffic progress at snail’s pace. There are three main reasons for this.

One is that the Linden Mini Bus Park (located behind Parliament) is usually overcrowded with buses parked two and three in a row. This causes them to block a large portion of the main roadway which is designated for vehicular traffic to traverse. When it rains, as it did yesterday morning, the sidewalk is flooded and pedestrians are forced to use the roadway and battle with the vehicles.

The second reason for slow traffic on Lombard Street is that there is a traffic light at the corner of High Street and Hadfield Street which holds up the heavy flow of traffic out of the Stabroek Market area and the many mini bus parks located around the market. For long periods numerous vehicles are left stalled by the traffic lights which hampers the free flow of traffic moving eastward on Hadfield Street.

The third factor is the inconsiderate stopping of mini buses on Lombard Street itself to let off and pick up passengers.

These three factors combine to cause traffic to be backed up for several corners along Lombard Street. It is no surprise then that the gunman felt he would have had enough time to have shot Mrs van Beek as she progressed along the route on her way to work.

That a gunman would be lying in wait at the corner for Mrs. van Beek to approach and have the confidence that he would have enough time to shoot her and escape speaks to a well thought through plan. The gunman must have known she uses that route and the time she is likely to have passed and that the traffic is always backed up so he would have ample time to execute his heinous act. Someone must have been keeping tabs on Mrs van Beek for some time. They were studying her routines and determined the best place to pounce on her in the attempt to end her life. Thank God it was an unsuccessful attempt. Mrs van Beek certainly cheated death.

Had there been a free flow of traffic in the area the shooter is unlikely to have had the confidence that he would have been able to execute his crime with Mrs van Beek’s vehicle likely to be proceeding at a steady pace.

One of the secondary reviews which must be conducted as a result of the attempt to end Mrs van Beek’s life is the untenable flow of traffic out of Lombard Street and the Stabroek Market mini bus parks. This area is also hive for all sorts of criminal elements and the slow traffic aids their nefarious causes. This situation is severely worsened every time there is Parliament which, inexplicably, then results in parts of Brickdam and the Stabroek Market square being closed to vehicular traffic. This too needs to be reviewed.