SOME residents of upper St Andrew have threatened to take up placards to protest poor road infrastructure and unrestricted real estate developments, as they say they are tired of their cries falling on deaf ears. The Jamaica Observer was taken on a tour of Waterworks Road and adjoining thoroughfares in Kingston 8, starting from the Manor Park area, where various roadways that were recently patched have already started disintegrating. The residents claim that a lot of the problems they face stem from an increase in large real estate projects in the area, as when projects are being executed, roads are dug up and not repaired properly.
They also suspect that unregulated construction is a main factor in roads being damaged frequently even after being fixed. “We are planning a protest, if nothing happens,” one resident threatened. That resident, who withheld his name, pointed to a spot where water was spouting through a break in the asphalt on Waterworks Road.
“They don’t use shingles or anything like that when they are fixing the roads, so the road is being eaten out from underneath,” he said. As it relates to apartment projects being undertaken in the area, the resident said the road infrastructure can’t support the developments. Water running from a break in the asphalt at a section of Waterworks Avenue in St Andrew on Monday.
(Photo: Naphtali Junior) Pointing to premises on Waterworks Road where heavy-duty trucks used in construction were parked, the resident said the community has no idea what the plans for the location are, and is opposed to any more major construction projects at this time. Attempts have been made by members of the community to acquire information from the authorities about the developers’ plans, but they have hit a roadblock, having been told by authorities that they can get a copy of the documents in 60 days. However, this time frame poses a problem for the residents who said they are aware that under the law, they have a limited period in which to file an objection to any proposed construction projects.
In a letter recently penned by residents, which the Observer saw, the residents said, “For nearly two years, residents of Broadway Close, Broadway Road, Sharrow Drive, and Waterworks Road in Kingston 8 have endured a slow-motion disaster. A developer dug up their roads to lay sewer pipes, left the reinstatement in a dangerously substand…
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