THE EDITOR, Sir:I AM replying to an article in the Friday July 9 edition of The Gleaner 'Vendors taking over Spanish Town Bypass'.
I do agree that too many adults and children are on the bypass selling their wares. They will also be seen as an annoyance when one has had a hard day at work and is trying to get home only to find himself stuck in a mile long traffic with children and adults trying to attract his attention by advertising their wares to induce a sale. I do not agree however that the vendors contribute to traffic congestion.
Mr. Jermaine Beckford, a university student from Spanish Town who travels on the bypass at least two times a day was quoted as saying "they stand in the middle of the road which is really very dangerous. When you decide to switch lanes you don't see them until at the last second and you have to swing so as to avoid an accident." He said "they also contribute to traffic congestion on the roads because when the drivers decide to buy from them they (the drivers) just stop in the middle of the road."
If these sellers are in the middle of the road, how is it that he sees them only at the last second and has to swing away from them so as to avoid an accident?
Most of the times the traffic is moving very slowly and therefore gives the motorist a chance to buy in comfort. If the traffic is moving freely the vendors often run after the vehicles if they had been alerted earlier by a motorist that he needed something.
EXAMINATION NEEDED
The present state of the economy needs to be examined and reconstructed so that everyone, regardless of status in society, is able to fit somewhere in the formal employment structure. A programme should be designed in which they can be doing the same thing but in an orderly manner and at the same time be contributing to their well-being and the development and enhancement of their society and the country on a whole.
In the article, Dr. Raymouth Notice appealed to the National Works Agency (NWA) to work in collaboration with his office to alleviate the problem at hand. I think it is a very good idea but with one condition, that they have some employment strategy in place when they remove these individuals from the streets. They can't be just taken off the streets and thrown into their homes, that is if some even have a home.
Please do what you must, but it makes no sense for one to alleviate a problem by creating another one. Think before you act.
I am, etc.,
SHERILL FRANCIS
Marlie Mount
Old Harbour P.O.
St. Catherine
