An accident occurred at the intersection of Baillou Hill Road and Poinciana Drive yesterday. (Photo: Torrell Glinton)

With complaints from residents that there have been too few officers on the streets of New Providence coordinating traffic flow at many of the busy thoroughfares in the absence of functioning traffic lights, Superintendent Craig Stubbs, head of the police traffic division, said his officers have been on the ground in acceptable numbers since the passage of Hurricane Matthew.

"We are out there. We are out on the streets in full force," Stubbs said.

"We have been closely monitoring Marathon and Robinson Road, a major intersection.

"There are some intersections that work themselves out.

"What we have along Robinson Road, Claridge Road, Mackey Street, for example, is officers from the division assisting.

"We are monitoring it and where we see congestion building up, we will go in and rectify the situation.

"But, everyone is on deck and working hand in hand during this time."

Matthew downed trees and power lines throughout New Providence.

It rendered most of the island without power.

As of yesterday, Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) said power had been restored to approximately 80 percent of residential customers.

Although power restoration is ongoing, many intersections still do not have functioning traffic lights.

Asked to respond to criticisms from residents who have complained about the lack of road traffic officers being present at busy thoroughfares, Stubbs said those people must be complaining from home because "they can't be out on the streets".

However, Stubbs admitted that there has been an uptick in the number of traffic accidents since Matthew's passage.

He said immediately following the all clear, residents rushed in droves to service stations for fuel, depots for ice and water and "we saw a number of accidents in the areas" of these establishments.

"People have been inconsiderate and impatient on the roads and that has led to a number of these incidents," Stubbs noted.

He encouraged motorists to be cautious and patient, noting that several traffic lights across the island were still down.

Stubbs said authorities will continue to monitor closely the busy intersections.

He said the traffic division has been in close communication with the relevant agencies, including Bahamas Power and Light (BPL).

His advice to residents: "If people can stay home and avoid congested areas that would help.

"We are working to return New Providence back to normalcy, but we need everyone to be on one page."

Royston Jones Jr., Guardian Staff Reporter

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