Broken cable wires causing havoc in Lucea
Published:Tuesday | October 17, 2023 | 12:05 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
BROKEN CABLE wires, some dangling in mid-air, some touching the ground in the middle of streets, and others hanging across driveways and streets, are a cause of major concern in the town of Lucea, Hanover.
During the October monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), Easton Edwards, councillor for Lucea, named several areas across his division where the broken and dangling wires were causing problems. The representative from the Jamaica Constabulary Force at the meeting, Deputy Superintendent of Police Peter Salkey, also stated that in sections of the town the broken wires are slowing up the flow of traffic.
“At the moment the garbage on Lorrington Avenue is piling up, as the efforts of the NSWMA (National Solid Waste Management Authority) is being hampered by the broken cable wires within and across that roadway, which is rendering large units from being able to manoeuvre along the roadway,” Edwards outlined during the HMC meeting held last Thursday.
“I am sure that customers of the cable companies must have complained about not getting any service, because there are so many hanging broken cable wires, and no cable connectivity should mean no shows, so I am at a loss as to why the cable companies are taking so long to fix these broken wires,” Edwards stated.
Meanwhile, Salkey supported the call for something to be done about the loose, broken cable wires hanging along the streets within the town, noting that they sometimes cause traffic to be backed up, as some people are very cautious when driving under the hanging cables. He mentioned that some of the broken wires are hanging as low as vehicle’s windscreen level, and persons are scared of the hanging cable wires breaking their windscreens.
Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels, the chairman of the HMC, was supportive of sending a team out on the streets to cut down and clear all the hanging cable wires, as he also made mention of the entrance to the Watson Taylor Park complex being blocked by such wires.
“As it stands now, it is a challenge to enter the Watson Taylor Park complex, as broken wires are all within the entrance driveway, and motorists are scared of getting entangled with these wires and pulling down a light pole with them,” he stated.
Romeo Daley, acting chief executive officer of the HMC, told the meeting that the cable companies that service the town of Lucea were previously written to by the HMC about the nuisance of the broken cables, but no response has been forthcoming from them.
The Gleaner has been informed that three cable companies service the space within the town of Lucea.
After discussions about the problem, a decision was arrived at in the meeting to write to the respective companies once more, giving them a one-week ultimatum to clear up the cable wires within the town, following which, if the companies do not address the problem, the HMC will take action.
Samuels opined that it was about time that something be done about the situation, as it has been ongoing for some time, and worsens as time goes along.