Former independent MP Stuart Hayward is urging Government to set up a task force which will examine Bermuda's carrying capacity and develop appropriate policies.

"We can't just keep doing the same thing anymore. We've got to do something else," Mr. Hayward told The Royal Gazette.

Mr. Hayward, who made sustainable development a key plank in his bid for elective office in last month's General Election, was reacting to the recent road traffic accident which took the life of six-year-old Tyaisha Cox. Since then two others have died on the Island's roads - Lloyd Dellano Burch, 24, on August 13 and Alshe Caisey, 20, on August 17.

"There are people who can imagine what could have been done to save that young girl's life - how that site could have been monitored. And if you multiply that by all the crosswalks on the Island you're talking about an enormous investment of time and manpower. While you would want to do that to save another person's life that doesn't solve the problem for the long term, so we have to take a systemic look," he said.

"This Island is splitting its seams and we just can't do it with a needle and thread at the seam anymore."

"I think that what we're looking at is a much more larger problem than just traffic," Mr. Hayward said.

"Traffic is where the problem seems to present itself for all of us".

Witnesses said that Tyaisha was struck by a jeep type vehicle as she made her way across the pedestrian crossing near Purvis Primary School.

Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler has promised a comprehensive report into the incident.

Mr. Hayward said while a review into the incident was important, it treats the accident as a self contained problem which it isn't, and would likely not address the long term.

"The problem is volume - the volume of traffic and the volume of traffic incidents are really beyond the ability of the Police force to even monitor in my view. And the volume is increasing," Mr. Hayward said.

"We are averaging 370 more cars on the road every year. How many more Policemen would you need per year given that the more dense the traffic, the more complex it is and the greater number of controllers needed."

He recalled that 20 years ago people complained that Bermuda was becoming a Police state because of the number of Police officers on patrol.

"It's a balance that needs to be struck. But if we continue to add more vehicles and the road space isn't increasing, the competition per square foot of road space increases and the frustration increases likewise. So you are having a competition of demand. And this is what happened on the school site - there were young people wanting to get across the road and some people wanting to get along the road - so it's at cross purposes. And that happens more and more frequently."

He said the question of how many road users can be accommodated by the existing road system and the Police Service needed the attention of "the highest levels of Government.

"These are not questions that can be answered by the Police Service, they can't be answered by the Road Safety Council. It's really a broad policy issue that needs the attention of the highest levels of government."

Mr. Hayward added: "We're really talking about carrying capacity. What's the capacity of our Island for all of these things that we are trying to fit into it - of which traffic is just one?"

He said the Premier should set up a "blue ribbon task force specifically to examine Bermuda's carrying capacity".

Included on that task force would be representatives from the local and international business sector, the statistics, immigration, and police department and the Ministry of Finance.

"I would include academics and scientists and community activists. And there would be several things that they would do - deliberation, meet with interest groups around the community, also include public forums and pure research projects such as surveys and other research projects. And the goal would be to develop policy recommendations supported by solid evidence but also taking into consideration the public's expectations of lifestyle and quality of life."