I am fed up with the transport and road situation here in Barbados. I don’t have road rage but each time I am on the road there is something that just upsets me. What frustrates me further is that I know we can do better but for some reason we continue to wallow in our laziness, indifference, wastage, lawlessness and lack of care.
For 27 years of my life I lived in Christ Church and for as long as I can remember, each time there is heavy rain, the road that separates Warner’s Park and Sheraton Centre floods. Similarly, the bridge that is south of the junction that takes you to Royal Westmoreland or St Silas Heights on the Ronald Mapp Highway floods as soon as there is consistent rainfall.
A few hundred metres travelling in a northerly direction along the same highway stretch brings us to Sion Hill, which has severe flooding as soon as there is rain. This causes a heavy backup of traffic as well as great discomfort and danger to pedestrians. Let’s not forget the threat of damage these waters pose to vehicles, especially cars. It was frustrating to learn from residents in the area that this situation has been so for many, many years.
A few months back there was heavy rainfall across Barbados that resulted in heavy flooding and damaged roads. It was disheartening that weeks afterwards some of the roads are yet to be fixed. Â
One morning I wanted to get from the Ronald Mapp Highway to Highway 1 and decided to use the secondary road that is next to the Gordon Greenidge School, which passes through Rock Dundo. On my way down, I stopped to give a gentleman and an old lady a ride. I proceeded to move off when I felt the left side of the car suddenly drop into what I imagined to be a massive pothole, which was created from the floodwaters weeks before.
The impact was so severe that the shocks on my car fully depressed, causing the chassis to hit the ground with force. The next day, my car developed a rattling noise on the left side and when I took it to a mechanic, he informed me that the left bushing was damaged and that was most likely caused by the impact.
Due to poor management of our roads, I was left with the expense of getting my car fixed. I have also heard similar stories from other motorists who were expensed due to the inefficiencies of our roadworks managers.
On many occasions, my car was almost hit by persons avoiding manholes, which appear to be potholes or protruding covers, which may damage the wheel of their cars.
There is always a price to pay for road development but I believe that greater consideration should be given to motorists, especially since they endure many months or years of discomfort. Can I ask that the gravel road around the construction area in Redmans Village be levelled on a more frequent basis as it is shortening the lifespan of the suspension and steering components of our vehicles?
In 2005 while in Finland, I learnt that motorists would receive a heavy fine if their vehicle’s exhaust could be seen. I believe such a policy is needed here because there are too many vehicles, especially Transport Board buses, minibuses and ZRs, which are polluting the air and making it increasingly difficult for persons driving behind them to breathe.
I love motorcycles, but these motor cross riders are out of control and making bad for other riders. When they aren’t doing stunts through traffic, they are jumping my children out of their sleep when they pass my car at high speeds with their excessively loud mufflers. Last time I checked, a motor cross was an off-road vehicle.
As I close, I want to ask that if the Ministry of Transport and Works or the Barbados Water Authority doesn’t have all the equipment available, they should stop digging up the road and leaving deep, dangerous holes exposed for months on end.
• Corey Worrell is a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. Email coreyworrell@gmail.com.
