Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Yvonne McCormack, chairperson of the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Committee. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

YESTERDAY, WHEN parents in Portmore prepared their children for the new school term, Yvonne McCormack, strident president of the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Committee (PCAC), steeled herself for another boycott of St. Catherine's controversial toll road.

It's been almost two months since Government declared the six-lane highway open, charging motorists a minimum of $60 to use it. Many residents have welcomed the roughly six-mile strip, saying it makes their commute to Kingston easier.

Others, like Ms. McCormack, refuse to use it saying the fee is too high. The vocal PCAC head has led a boycott of the road since it opened in mid-July, vowing not to yield until there is a reduction in the toll.

This week, with schools reopening, using the highway is expected to add to the financial stress of parents. It will be, Ms. McCormack pointed out, the sternest challenge yet for the toll operators.

"They might have a bumper morning, but not a bumper evening, or a bumper evening, but not a bumper morning. The real test will come between Monday and Wednesday when all the schools should be open," she said.

Construction

The PCAC and government have been at odds for months over the toll road which is the Portmore leg of Highway 2000. It cost US$100 million to construct and replaced the causeway as Portmore's main link to Kingston.

Even before the cost to use the highway was announced, PCAC members clashed with Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill, over lack of communication and the fee to use the highway.

They were not impressed with figures that call for drivers of motor cars to pay $60, $100 for sports utility vehicles and $200 for trucks and buses. A minimum fee of $20, they argued, would have been fair.

Through vigils and meetings, the PCAC has encouraged members to use the alternative Mandela Highway. The boycott, Ms. McCormack said, has been effective.

"I know for a fact that there are persons who started out boycotting that toll road, have continued to boycott and vowed to boycott until we get dialogue and a reduction in the toll," she said.

Administrators of the toll road tell a different story, saying returns to date have exceeded their projections.

The toll road stand-off has been by far the biggest issue the PCAC has faced since it formed three years ago. It encompasses 19 organisation throughout Portmore, a massive community of boroughs with over 250,000 residents.

Businesswoman, mother

Ms. McCormack has led the PCAC since January. A business-woman and mother of two children, she was born in Mandeville, Manchester, but has lived in Portmore for 15 years.

While many persons in Portmore have blasted the Government's handling of the toll road affair, Ms. McCormack's organisation also has its critics.

Some of the toll road's most vocal opponents are members of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), prompting talk that the PCAC boycott is politically aligned.

"Because the JLP has had a presence at most of the meetings and the PNP has sought not to attend it looks political, but this is not so," said Ms. McCormack. "All of the political representatives who have attended our meetings are residents of Portmore; some might have agendas, but we don't carry party politics to PCAC meetings."

The Government and the toll road operators are adamant that there will be no rollback of the toll fees. The flood of vehicles through the Portmore toll suggests that many have warmed to the project.

However, Yvonne McCormack insists the PCAC's boycott will keep up the pressure.

"I don't know when enough will be enough ... Maybe at the point when nobody is on the alternative (Mandela Highway) and we're all on the toll road," she said. "But I just don't see that day coming."