Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Letter of the Day | Mass road repair idiotic political plan

Published:Thursday | September 13, 2018 | 12:00 AM

THE EDITOR, Sir:

If you ask me who is an idiot, I would answer that an idiot is one who consistently does stupid things.

I will, therefore, use my answer as a reference point for the transport gridlock that has been affecting the Corporate Area since Monday. Apart from being idiots, the technocrats of

the road reconstruction, the Government and the police Traffic Division, lack the vision and the cohesive networking to facilitate smooth-running traffic.

What we have been seeing is the scoring of political points. Prime Minister Andrew Holness has just said that he will not let governance affect his politics.To effect two major road-rehabilitation projects in an already-overburdened traffic-management environment lacks vision and common sense. It is plain stupidity and idiotic!

If you listen to sound bites from the common man who gets caught up in the gridlock, they seem to have better suggestions than the Government, technocrats, and the police themselves.

All three parties have data to show that our main gateways to and out of the city are overwhelmed by the volume of traffic. Constant Spring Road and Three Miles are two major gateways, and to have both undergoing major rehabilitation is an idiotic move that should be condemned by any well-thinking Jamaican, regardless of his politics.

Any psychiatrist will tell you that a poor traffic-management system has a negative effect on the stress levels of the commuters using it. How can people be productive and children learn in such an environment?

As the rainy season appears to be emerging, imagine what will happen amid flooding in the Corporate Area. The rainy nightmare will not affect the politicians, who have guided police escorts or the option of helicoptering to their destination.

This stupid act was a political decision and must have political consequences for placing the public at risk. Legacy projects should not be at the expense of common sense, as Mr Holness would want us to believe. As one man blurted out in his frustration after being caught up in the traffic for hours, "You will never see a government minister get caught up in this traffic, only we, the poor people."

FERNANDEZ SMITH

Former JLP Councillor

fgeesmith@yahoo.com