Bumper-to-bumper traffic west of the six-lane bridge on the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 heading into Kingston. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Portmore residents have mandated community leaders to step up protest action as a result of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's failure to meet with the leaders to discuss issues concerning the toll road, four months after a request was made.

At a public meeting last weekend, residents mandated community leaders to plan alternative protest actions in the event that the Prime Minister failed to respond to a petition that will be sent to her, requesting improvement to the seven-month-old Portmore toll road.

Noting the Prime Minister's silence on the Portmore toll issue to date, Yvonne McCormack, secretary for the All Hellshire Leadership Council said: "We believe that any democratic leader should respond to at least one thousand signatories."

Leaders disclosed at the meeting that the number of signatures gathered so far was approaching the 5,000 mark.

Petition signing

The community leaders enter the final phase of their public petition signing this Saturday between 9 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at major shopping centres located across Portmore. The petition will be sent to the Prime Minister next week.

The petition calls on Mrs. Simpson Miller to reduce the $60 and $100 toll rates for class one and two vehicles respectively; freeze toll rates for 24 months; widen the Marcus Garvey Drive exit from the toll road; and widen Mandela Highway, the court-approved alternative to the Portmore toll road. Furthermore residents are calling for a suspension of toll rates along the Portmore toll road until the current traffic bottlenecks are overcome.