ONE EXAMPLE of the danger to Jamaicans posed by improper environmental practices is the disposal of old motor vehicle batteries that can cause lead poisoning, especially in children under six years of age. Another such hazard is the proliferation of unregistered sidewalk garages clustered throughout the Corporate Area and in main cities across the island. They are not only unsightly but often obstruct the flow of traffic, vehicular as well as pedestrian. Also, they also contribute to the incorrect disposal of dangerous chemicals.
The Motor Repairmens Association of Jamaica (MRAJ) is calling on the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) to crack down on illegal garages, a call we support. Such garages are a sub-set of 'squatting', a social problem that the State has allowed to get out of hand. While some sympathy can be generated for people genuinely seeking shelter, this consideration cannot be extended to the operators of illegal garages, which operate for profit and which constitute unfair competition for registered garages which comply with the law. According to a spokesman for the MRAJ, informal garages account for approximately 50% of the total repair business, costing legitimate operators million of dollars.
Unregistered garages usually spring up as back-yard enterprises with insufficient space for the number of vehicles being repaired. This results in vehicles being parked on sidewalks and on the side of roads facing the premises, thereby creating a nuisance to the public. There are also dangerous health hazards in residential areas involving the improper disposal, not only of batteries, but chemical containers, tyres and lubricants. Aesthetically, sidewalk garages are a blight upon the landscape and contribute to the general rundown appearance of Kingston.
Town Clerk Errol Green is aware of the problem and promises to bring it up at the next meeting of the KSAC. Mr. Green is a man of action and we trust that he will get the full support of Mayor Desmond McKenzie in dealing with the garage problem as efficiently as they have been dealing with the plague of illegal signs and billboards.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
