By Monique Hepburn, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
HUNDREDS Of commuters in Cambridge, St. James, were left stranded on Monday when bus and taxi operators withdrew their services in protest against the poor road conditions in the area.
According to reports, at about 7:00 a.m. several bus and taxi operators decided against taking up passengers and proceeded to stage a peaceful protest at the intersection of the Bickersteth and the Montpelier main roads. As a result of the protest, several schools were affected as many students either got to school late or were not able to attend.
When The Gleaner visited the area mid-morning, one of the bus operators, Ezzard Campbell, complained that the condition of the road had deteriorated significantly since the start of the rainy season and was making their lives difficult through the extra 'wear and tear' on their vehicles.
"I did not work this morning because we need the road to be resurfaced and it will get worse with the heavy rain," Mr. Campbell said. "There are about six bad spots along the road and if we get those repaired we can make do with that for a while."
Vando Palmer, manager of communication and customer service at the National Works Agency (NWA), admitted that extensive road repairs were needed along the Cambridge to Montpelier main road. He also admitted that the road has not been serviced in recent times. He nonetheless told residents that they would begin to see improvements in road conditions as early as next week.
"We are aware of the conditions in the area and we admit that substantial work has not been done there for a long time," Mr. Palmer told The Gleaner. "The area is very flat and we are in the process of designing a drainage system that is suitable for that area. The plans is 50 per cent complete and we expect to start working on the roads next week."
