FRUSTRATED residents of Padmore Gardens,St Philip, took matters into their own hands this week and started to repair the unfinished road in their neighbourhood which has been making their lives uncomfortable.And they did the task with material left behind by the company hired by Government almost two years ago to do the job.Neighbours Keith Griffith and Wendell Hunte got up early on Wednesday morning and started on the job. They were joined in the evening by other residents after work. Armed with shovels and wheelbarrows, they worked until 8 p.m., filling in the deep potholes on the long stretch of road with marl and then compacting.“We could not take it anymore. The holes were deep, deep, deep. Our vehicles were being damaged and it was difficult for people to walk on the road. The dust was affecting everyone,” said an annoyed Monica Griffith, who is Keith’s wife.That same day while repairing the road, a vehicle’s axle broke after it was driven into a pothole.The couple said work on the road started in June last year and was supposed to be completed by November, but stopped suddenly last year and started again this year for a few weeks.“One day we saw all the equipment and the container which was on site being removed. We called the depot in Six Roads and the MTW (Ministry of Transport and Works) and asked what was going on and all we were told was that they were coming back,” Keith said.Monica said she even spoke to Minister of Public Works John Boyce.“In all fairness to him when I told him what was happening he told me he would send workmen back to the area, and they came. I again spoke to him about a month ago and he assured me work would start in two weeks’ time. “On Wednesday when we were doing the road, I saw Minister [of Housing] Michael Lashley and I flagged him down and told him how annoyed we were. He told me that he had a meeting with Minister Boyce and that Padmore Gardens was one of the roads which was on his list to be completed.”Maureen Parris, who is here from England spending time with her mother, who lives in Padmore Village, said she was in Barbados last year and was disgusted by the state of the road, but was shocked to return this year to find that its condition had worsened.“I think the politicians have totally neglected Padmore Village. The people have to be militant and stop being so tolerant. Gone are the days when you had to have a godfather to get things done; the people have a vote,” she said, while pointing out that she was born in the area.It is understood that one resident and her family moved out of Padmore Gardens, unable to contend with the dust since they all suffered sinus problems.Residents also stated that because of the state of the road no one could walk on it. Instead, they had to walk on the edges.In response to our query on this matter, Kathyann Best from the public relations office of the Ministry of Transport and Works said that Rayside Construction Ltd was doing the job and that it was on hold. She said she was not sure when it would restart.
