Almost three weeks after this newspaper carried an article highlighting broken corridors along Windward Road and Homestead Drive in Kingston, and on Golding Avenue outside the Irvine Hall gate of The University of the West Indies, (UWI) Mona campus in St Andrew, the issues have yet to be addressed by the relevant authorities.
When THE STAR revisited Windward Road on Thursday, 'caution' tape was observed around the breakaways and a huge plastic container was used to partially block one of the holes. However, Chairman of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, Daemion McLean, said caution tapes are of no use to the blind and visually impaired community.
"We cannot see the caution tape and it is of no use if it's placed right next to the holes. By the time we feel the tape we are going to be in the hole. If they are placed a little distance away, then we will feel it and know that danger is ahead. None of the holes are fixed and we are just urging them to fix it," he said.
Earlier this month, a visually impaired man who was returning from church fell into the hole along Windward Road. A video captured by a motorist's dash cam showed the man taking a hard fall into the 'ditch', hitting his face on the concrete. Also earlier this month, Communications Manager of the National Works Agency (NWA) Stephen Shaw stated that the issue at the side of the corridor at the intersection of Windward Road and Homestead Drive is receiving attention.
"We have had a design done for the solution to be implemented. We are now in the process of pricing the bills of quantity, following which we will move to having the works procured," he said.
"Regarding the situation at the UWI, I am not aware of the situation there, but can confirm that the corridor, if it is Sir John Golding Road, is one that falls under the jurisdiction of the NWA," he added.
