Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writer
FOLLOWING AN all-night vigil Saturday in protest against the toll charges set for the Portmore Toll Bridge, hundreds of Portmore residents maintained they would boycott the Portmore toll road this morning.
President of the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Committee (PCAC), Yvonne McCormack, says that at least 75 per cent of drivers who normally use the causeway to get to Kingston are using the Mandela Highway.
Portmore residents insisted they would boycott the route last week following the announce-ment of a $60 non-frequent user fee for class one motorists. They say a $30 fee is more reasonable.
Developers anticipate that at least 70 per cent of the 39,000 vehicles expected to travel from Portmore to Kingston and back, will use the toll bridge.
NO MONEY
"What I really want is for 70 per cent of their 70 per cent that would use the toll to boycott so that they (the developers) will make no money," McCormack told The Gleaner yesterday.
Despite the boycott, toll operators, TransJamaican Highway Limited, said they were not worried about the impact. Managing director, Trevor Jackson told The Gleaner last week the boycott was not sustainable.
"What are they gonna be doing? Sitting in Mandela for hours and hours and hours. I think they'll get bored of that pretty quickly, but hopefully they'll realise the benefits of the road. I'm hopeful that it's not going to happen to the extent that it is not going to happen for too long," he says.
Portmore residents initially announced the boycott would last for two months, but McCormack said residents are prepared to boycott for as long as it will take.
"We will do it until the the toll is $30," she said.
Meanwhile, police will increase their presence on the Mandela Highway, Washington Boulevard and Spanish Town roads this morning to monitor the increased traffic flow created by the boycott.
"We'll be putting in extra police at all junctions and wreckers so we can quickly move cars in case of breakdowns and doing general observation," a deputy superintendent of police in the traffic division, told The Gleaner yesterday.
