Motorists pass through the Portmore Toll Plaza in St. Catherine during the first day of operation on July 15, 2006. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
A recent survey commissioned by CVM Television suggests that the Portmore Citizens Advisory Council (PCAC) has not been convincing enough in its call for a boycott of the Portmore Toll Road.
The survey of 250 persons, conducted by Market Research Services Limited (MRSL) between September 6 and 13, found that three quarters of the motoring residents of Portmore travelled the Toll Route into the Corporate Area. A little over a quarter of Portmore motorists used the Mandela Highway during that period.
Support for the boycott
Following the opening of the toll road on July 15, with charges at a low of $60 and a high of $200, the PCAC announced a boycott of the new roadway and called for the lowering of the minimum toll to $30. It appeared that there was initial support for the boycott, but with the reopening of the new school year, the CVM TV/MRSL survey shows that the usual 32 per cent of Portmore motorists using the alternate route via Mandela Highway dropped to approximately 26 per cent. In addition to high usage, a slight majority - 53.2 per cent - of residents approve of the Portmore Toll Road, while about 46 per cent are against the new roadway, according to the survey findings.
But despite the obvious preference for using the approximately six- kilometre toll road, which links their burgeoning St. Catherine community to Kingston, Portmore residents have pointed to the high cost of the toll. Seventy-two per cent of respondents who used the Mandela Highway said they did so because the toll road was too expensive, while in general, 82 per cent cited "too costly" as the negative they associate with the toll road. In addition, 69 per cent of respondents pointed to affordability as their reasons for opposing the establishment of the toll road.
In commenting on the survey findings, PCAC Chairman Yvonne McCormack said "they pointed to the central concern of residents, which is the high level of the toll." She argued that early support for the boycott waned in the face of the necessity for persons to transport their children to school on time. "We have always maintained that the causeway is the most convenient route from Portmore to Kingston," she told The Sunday Gleaner. Ms. McCormack said it was still necessary for residents to sign a petition to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller requesting the lowering of the toll rates and the upgrading of exit roads, such as Marcus Garvey Drive, which caused severe traffic pile up on the Portmore Toll Road last month. The PCAC chairman also disclosed that community leaders have called off the planned protest on the toll road tomorrow. "The community leaders believe the inadequacies of the road have already been demonstrated and would not want to further inconven-ience motorists by protest action," she explained.
In the meantime, Trevor Jackson of TransJamaican Highway, developer of the Toll Road, told The Sunday Gleaner that "as soon as the problem at Marcus Garvey Drive, is addressed, I expect the support to be even greater."
Toll Road Advantages
Saves time - 24.0
Sign of development - 20.0
Road much better - 19.2
Convenience - 9.6
Traffic has been less - 7.2
Toll Road Disadvantages
Too expensive - 45.8
Too short - 25.2
Should be free - 23.4
Too much traffic - 6.5
No apparent benefits - 3.7
CVM TV/MRSL Survey
