PORT ANTONIO, Portland:
THE PROBLEM of traffic congestion in the resort town of Port Antonio was a central topic of discussion at last Thursday's general meeting of the Portland Parish Council.
Pointing to an increase in the number of motor vehicles in the town, Councillor of the Manchioneal Division, Oral Stewart, proposed that the Council look seriously at providing more public parking to facilitate motorists.
The town is now faced with a problem of illegally parked vehicles, which leads to more congestion, as Councillor Dexter Roland noted.
A designated parking lot at Allan Avenue that was expected to take the vehicles off the streets, has had little impact as motorists are not using the facility.
The parking lot's distance from the town centre is cited as one of the reasons.
"'No Parking' signs are constantly being ignored, and motorists have been parking in unauthorised areas," said Mr. Rowland.
Acknowledging the efforts of the traffic police who the Council said are working in earnest to deal with the situation, the local authority noted that the problems which crop up from day to day are created by motorists.
Plans to address the congestion problem include the posting of road signs, marked pedestrian crossings, and parking areas for vehicles.
