People's Report

It has never been attended to by any of the governments in power. It is now breaking away, as corroborated by these photos.

We the people have decided: no roads, no votes!

kmikewebster@gmail.com

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St Thomas overrun with breakaways

Cova Crosdale
Paul Bogle Drive, Morant Bay

I am back on the sore point of the disastrous condition of all the roads in St Thomas. Since my letter to you, the National Works Agency has placed 'falling rock' and 'road narrows' signs at the locations. Piles of dirt have also been placed where the road narrows and so allows for one-way traffic. To date, no remedial work has been done to correct the breakaways.

There is also a precipitous breakaway at the road in the Four Mile Wood area of Grants Pen. Every time I pass this breakaway, I look down to see if, by chance, any vehicle has fallen over and nobody has noticed it.

A lot of trailers use the St Thomas roadway daily, transporting sand from Morant Bay. We have the best sand in the island, but our roads are the worst.

There is a breakaway at Roach Gully in White Horses where there is a chasm under the road surface. There are signs that this area is constantly eroded by the elements, and so the road continues to be undermined.

Another sore point is the condition of the road in the Roselle area, right by the falls. The drain which carries the water from the falls to the sea is blocked, so that the water settles on the road and destroys it. This is where people use the opportunity to wash their motor vehicles.

When this is done, the water that settles becomes dirty, so motorists are unable to see the very large potholes and cannot avoid them. This causes damage to the vehicles.

It would be appreciated if the road could be fixed, because a lot of people commute between St Thomas and Kingston daily.

covacrosdale@hotmail.com

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Fix Windsor Road bridge

FRANKLIN BENT
Spanish Town, St Catherine

I am concerned about the many children that will use the Windsor Road bridge in Spanish Town, St Catherine. Many coming from Windsor Road and Cromarty have to use it to go to the McAuley Primary School.

Much of this bridge has collapsed for many months now, making it impassable to vehicular traffic. A gaping hole now exists, and both children and adults have to traverse across the sliver of road that has been left behind.

Because of this, taxi men have raised fares, as they have been forced to use the long route to Duncans Pen or Spanish Town Bypass. Some persons, however, have no other choice but make their way across the dangerous bridge.

I am making an appeal to the relevant agencies to do something about this before the school term starts.

franklin.bent@yahoo.com

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Rescue Tanglewood from neglect

CONCERNED AND DISSATISFIED CITIZEN
Tanglewood, St Ann

After approximately 15 years, it has become necessary to publicly write about the conditions of the Tanglewood Road. Tanglewood is a housing development which has been around for more than 45 years, in a district outside St Ann's Bay called Priory, in St Ann.

The parish council has been contacted, the member of parliament has been contacted, governments come and governments go, and the road gets worse and worse. I have personally contacted MPs, including the present one, and promises has been made and those promises have never materialised. I understand that it has been said that the people of Tanglewood can stay, as they are not the kind of persons that will block the roads.

Garbage collection since last year has also not been getting the attention it deserves. The gentleman who was previously responsible for the contract, prior to the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), did a fantastic job. The NSWMA is a set of jokers which you would not even find in a normal deck of cards. For the former contracted gentleman, it was very important to have his men take care of our garbage because he had pride, he cared for the people, and respected them.

This has certainly left me to believe that the mayor, the MP, the councillors, the NSWMA have no pride in their jobs.

The St Ann's Bay Cemetery needs to be cleaned on a more consistent basis than is currently being done. It is a disgrace!

Our biggest difficulty right now, however, is the Tanglewood roads. Every single homeowner in Tanglewood and Priory pays taxes. Yet it means nothing! The roads are so bad that they imperil driving. It has now taken a toll on our bodies and our vehicles.

When MP Shahine Robinson was contacted, she said she was working with the councillor to see what could be done. Ten months later, nothing!

On more than one occasion we have used our money to patch the roads, without any help from these representatives. But even with all this neighbourly assistance, the roads have become worse.

I remember in 1972 when the now-deceased Michael Manley won the election. At a large gathering in St Ann, he asked the people: "Now, my people of St Ann, we have won the elections, what can I do for you?" The people all shouted, "Play de music, play de music." Mr Manley said, "Mr Music, they want music. Give them music."

That has been our political legacy. We are calling upon the powers that be to rescue Tanglewood from neglect.

Please address the road woes, as we do not want to take our cries to the streets!

Tell us about the positives and negatives affecting your community, school or any other social space. Email submissions to letters@gleanerjm.com.