Dear Editor,
I commend the improvement works slated to be done on Mandela Highway. They’re long overdue.
Nonetheless, I am grieving for the trees that have been there for ages and are now being cut down and the marshes which may be be affected or lost.
I am, however, concerned about the abrupt start of the roadwork on Mandela Highway since the contract was purported to have been signed in July. Sufficient notification was not given considering the magnitude of work to be done and measures should have been put in place before the start of the new school year, which contributes to the traffic pile-up as more people travel the roadway.
This work should have started in August so that commuters could have got a better idea of what to expect and make provisions, if at all possible. What are the measures being put in place for the backup of traffic and delays now being experienced? Yes, we have the one-lane system for buses, but what else will be done to guide the smooth flow of traffic as we look forward to improvement in our roads. At present drivers are coming out earlier and seem to be gazing at the work being done, resulting in a tremendous backup in traffic; and the major work have not yet started.
It is worth mentioning that taking the toll road in the mornings and/or evenings is extremely burdensome for our citizens, many of whom are facing financial challenges already. Those commuters who have to come from far distances to work and conduct businesses in Kingston are especially affected as the toll rates are exorbitant.
It is not too early to start implementing measures to alleviate some of the hardships being experience or to be expected as we go through this next phase in the development of our country. A police/traffic warden’s presence is greatly needed, especially early in the mornings and in the evenings during the peak hours.
All things considered, it might have been more practical to have commenced the roadworks on Mandela Highway after the completion of the Marcus Garvey Road, rather than now as the alternate route for Portmore is Mandela Highway and vice versa.
Concerned Citizen
aleb2004@yahoo.com
I commend the improvement works slated to be done on Mandela Highway. They’re long overdue.
Nonetheless, I am grieving for the trees that have been there for ages and are now being cut down and the marshes which may be be affected or lost.
I am, however, concerned about the abrupt start of the roadwork on Mandela Highway since the contract was purported to have been signed in July. Sufficient notification was not given considering the magnitude of work to be done and measures should have been put in place before the start of the new school year, which contributes to the traffic pile-up as more people travel the roadway.
This work should have started in August so that commuters could have got a better idea of what to expect and make provisions, if at all possible. What are the measures being put in place for the backup of traffic and delays now being experienced? Yes, we have the one-lane system for buses, but what else will be done to guide the smooth flow of traffic as we look forward to improvement in our roads. At present drivers are coming out earlier and seem to be gazing at the work being done, resulting in a tremendous backup in traffic; and the major work have not yet started.
It is worth mentioning that taking the toll road in the mornings and/or evenings is extremely burdensome for our citizens, many of whom are facing financial challenges already. Those commuters who have to come from far distances to work and conduct businesses in Kingston are especially affected as the toll rates are exorbitant.
It is not too early to start implementing measures to alleviate some of the hardships being experience or to be expected as we go through this next phase in the development of our country. A police/traffic warden’s presence is greatly needed, especially early in the mornings and in the evenings during the peak hours.
All things considered, it might have been more practical to have commenced the roadworks on Mandela Highway after the completion of the Marcus Garvey Road, rather than now as the alternate route for Portmore is Mandela Highway and vice versa.
Concerned Citizen
aleb2004@yahoo.com