Motorists pass through the Portmore Toll Plaza in St. Catherine during the first day of operation on July 15, 2006. - File

Edmund Campbell, News Coordinator

A Gleaner-commissioned poll, conducted last month by Bill Johnson, found that 72 per cent of residents in the St. Catherine South West constituency will not factor the toll road into their voting decision. This compares to 22 per cent, who said the toll road would influence the party they voted for.

The St. Catherine South West constituency includes the bulk of the communities that constitute the old Portmore. The remainder of the sprawling suburban community consists of the newer Greater Portmore housing developments.

Johnson and his team interviewed 480 respondents, age 18 and older, on March 11, and the survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus three.

The poll findings come ahead of a meeting this Friday between a delegation of Portmore community leaders and a Government team chaired by Development Minister Donald Buchanan in response to an eight-point petition delivered last month to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

Speaking to The Sunday Gleaner last week, many residents expressed the view that the toll issue has been politicised, while others insisted that the people of Portmore have been hoodwinked.

Political fallout

Maria, a resident of Passage Fort, said that a political fallout arising from the cost imposed to use the toll was inevitable.

"You can't afford to hit my pocket and expect that it does not hit you somewhere, and where it hits you is my vote."

Johnson and his polling team had also enquired of Portmore residents about the affordability of the toll rates, which range from a low of $60 to a high of $200. Nearly two thirds (66 per cent) of the respondents said the rates were "too expensive"; more than a quarter (28 per cent) said the rates were "very reasonable or affordable".

However, in an interview with The Sunday Gleaner, Carlton Marshall, an executive member of the Waterford Citizens' Association, castigated those who have been critical of the cost associated with the toll road.

Commending the operators of the toll road for investing in the project, Mr. Marshall said Jamaicans now have a facility that was second to none. He said the highway had eased the burden ofcommuters who previously spent long hours in traffic trying to get out of Portmore.

"I can put my pot on fire, go to town and come back before it is burnt up, whereas I could not do it first time," Marshall said.

SEE FULL REPORT NEXT SUNDAY ON HOW ST. CATHERINE SOUTH EAST WILL VOTE IN THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION.