Two residents walk along the damaged road on Righton Crescent in Washington Gardens, St. Andrew. They told our news team that their walk would not have been possible if there was heavy rainfall earlier in the day. - Photo by Marlon Vickerman

What's Not Working?

Residents of Righton Crescent in Washington Gardens are cursing their political luck. The residents are complaining that the road they live on has been in need of repairs for well over two decades.

They pointed out that neighbouring thoroughfares such as Canewood Crescent among others have been repaired, it remains a mystery why Righton Crescent and Righton Drive, adjoining streets to Canewood Crescent, continually get overlooked.

Synopsis of the situation

It's a bumpy ride on Righton Crescent. There is no gettingaround that. Michael, an elderly resident from a Righton Crescent address, said that earlier this year he had the mammoth displeasure of experiencing a heart attack.

Michael said when the ambulance arrived to take him from his home, the discomfort of the cardiac arrest-related chest pains seemed to have intensified with every pothole the ambulance unavoidably made contact with as the emergency team tried to exit the area expeditiously.

"I think the authorities believe that Righton Crescent residents are millionaires so they don't have to fix the road. They want us to do it ourselves," Michael stated in his closing remarks.

Another resident, Karen, supported Michael's view.

"I don't see how a road can be in need of repairs for over 20 years and nothing gets done about it from the authority's standpoint," Karen said.

Who's Responsible?

The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC).

What's the status?

When the Member of Parliament for Western St. Andrew, O.T. Williams, was contacted, he conceded that he knew about the condition at Righton Crescent and that representation has been made to have the issue addressed.

He also suggested that the councillor for the area, Linton Walters, be contacted and provided us with his contact numbers.

When Walters was contacted via telephone, he asked for the names of the residents making complaints and abruptly hung up after those names were not provided.

In a bid to get some answers for the residents, our news team contacted the KSAC. A representative from the local authority's road and works department said they were aware of the poor condition of the roads in Washington Gardens generally, but were shocked to hear that Righton Crescent residents were lamenting that their road had not been repaired in decades.

However, the representative said the council would not be able to undertake any road repair project over the next two to three months as the limited funds it has in the coffers will be directed towards drain cleaning in the area in preparation for the hurricane season.

Conclusion

Mr. Walters we put it to you that, in refusing to comment and hanging up the telephone, you disrespected the people who elected you to serve them. We suggest, also, that you look up the meaning of servant - it might help you to understand the role that you should be playing.

The roads need to be fixed and that means both central and local government need to do their jobs or move out of the way so that the search for more capable and, more importantly, caring persons be found for the job.

We are watching!

Names changed.

- Done by Marlon Vickerman, Gleaner Writer