Whiteman, left, and Golding
Robert Hart, Staff Reporter
THE SENATE yesterday approved the Toll Authority Regulations 2003, to give teeth to the authority that will govern the running of the soon-to-be-opened Old Harbour bypass, Jamaica's first toll road.
However, Opposition Senators are voicing concerns about the state of the bypass.
"The regulations themselves are quite innocuous, but there are issues that are pertinent to these regulations that are not so innocuous," Senator Bruce Golding (Jamaica Labour Party), said in the Senate yesterday.
During the sitting, Senator Burchell Whiteman, Leader of Government Business, res-ponded to concerns about likely future increases in toll fees. He said the only consideration for a change in the rates charged would be based on movements in the dollar at six-month intervals. "Even then the movements of inflation would have to be in the order of 25 per cent," he said.
The toll rates will range from $50 to $100, depending on the category of vehicle.
Senator Golding raised other issues such as entry and exit points, the classification of vehicles, and the absence of proper lighting on the toll road.
He pointed out that phase one of the toll road is intended to run from Kingston to Williamsfield, Manchester, and it is expected that 13,000 motorists will use the highway daily.
"But not all 13,000 will travel the full distance," he said, adding that the challenge to the toll authority would be the placement of the points of entry and exit.
Switching to the classification of vehicles, Senator Golding said: "What is proposed here is a strange kind of something that is going to put you into one conundrum."
Category one vehicles have been classified as those that are less than 5.5 metres long and two metres high as well as motorised two- and three-wheel vehicles, including motor-cars, small sport utility vehicles and motorcycles. Category two covers vehicles more than 5.5 metres long and more than two metres high. Another category makes reference to trucks and trailers.
"The people who are manning these toll booths are going to have to be armed with some tape measures because I drive an SUV and I am not sure if it falls in category one or category two," Senator Golding said.
The issue of vehicle classification was also mentioned in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The House has already approved the regulations.
Senator Golding offered a possible solution, saying the vehicles could be classified by the number of axles they have, as is the norm for toll fee
determination in other countries.
On the absence of lighting on the road, he said that 300 street lights could be installed for a nominal cost of about $4 million. This, he added, would amount to only 3 per cent of the total revenue anticipated, if only half the expected motorists use the road.
The Senate was sitting for the first time since Parliament reconvened last week.
