Region 10 Chairman Mortimer Mingo is refuting claims by Public Works Minister Robeson Benn that billboards that had been erected along the Linden Soesdyke/Amelia’s Ward highway posed a traffic hazard.
Mingo said he thought it improper of the minister to publicly say that the billboards were a traffic hazard when they serve as a guide for persons entering the town, particularly those that had been put up a short distance from the highway’s dead-end point. Permanent Secretary at the Ministry Balraj Balram recently granted a contract to a Linden man to remove 28 billboards, which had been erected by government organs, private business and NGOs. While a few of the billboards bore strictly promotional advertisements most carried welcome notes and public service announcements.
Mingo said two non-resident Guyanese had requested that the signs be put back up as it illuminated the entrance to the town. According to Mingo, the visitors claimed that they had not realised that they had driven past the entrance to the town and continued driving to the end of the road and almost ended up in the gully. He said drivers who traverse the highway had also requested that the signs be put back up as they too found it difficult to identify the turn-off point when coming from Georgetown. Drivers claimed that the highway is very dark and the billboards, most of which were illuminated, guided their journey into the town.
A Georgetown/Linden minibus driver said since the signs had been removed he had ceased driving the route at nights. He also expressed fear that the dead-end spot could provide a cover for an ambush and other illegal activities. “Some people might want to say that we are over emphasizing with this issue but we live here and run the highway. We know the value and importance of those boards there and it is sad that the people we voted into offices don’t care about our issues. Those boards were more than just advertisements they minimized the occurrences of major accidents,” the driver contended. Other residents have said they fear that without the illumination the boards provided the area could become the next spot for fatal accidents, particularly for drivers who seldom use the road.
“If the minister is concerned about hazard he should have moved to address the deterioration of the highway,” Mingo said, adding that drivers must be extremely careful on the road when it rains because of the vast amounts of water that accumulates along the roadway due to deterioration. The road has deteriorated from the first hill from Soesdyke and there are stretches of road at Moblissa where vast expanses of water puddle when it rains. Mingo also recalled a fatal accident at Caruni Creek some years before where after encountering one of the large puddles a local boxer’s car had catapulted over the rails of the bridge. “Those situations still remain on the highway,” he said.
Meanwhile, Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairman Orin Gordon said that he was shocked at the removal of the billboards since the Town Council has been monitoring the planting and upkeep of these signs for more than three decades. He said while the Town Council is not the legal authority for the area, they assumed the responsibility because the area falls within the township of Linden. The IMC chair is piqued that the ministry did not see it prudent to notify any of the local authorities of their intention to remove the boards. He said at the time of their removal the Council had been preparing to measure and bill companies who had erected signs without consulting it. The Council usually charges business entities an annual fee for erecting billboards along the route and within the town.
Several private entities that had erected billboards in the area said that they felt cheated as they had not been given an advance notice from the Council or the ministry of the removal. Some claimed to have a yearly contract with the council for almost $500 000 for signs along the roadway as well as within the town. Some corporate entities had erected cautionary notices at several points along the Linden/Soesdyke highway as it had been plagued by a number of serious and fatal accidents over the years. Most recently, Digicel had installed a number of street lights along the Amelia’s Ward highway at a cost of over $5M.
Since the billboards have been removed one resident commented that, “every time we make one step forward they does do something to take us twenty steps backwards. How can we ever see progress like that?” The resident claimed to be baffled about how the minister could view the illuminated signs as a traffic hazard since he too hailed from Linden and would also have benefited from having the signs along the road.
Meanwhile, the Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development (LCICD) last week has expressed its total support of the recent action by the police to enforce a regulation that will prevent trucks and other heavy vehicles from entering unto the Linden/Soesdyke Highway between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am daily.
According to a LCICD press release, commuters, business operators, and particularly market vendors who have to travel the highway late and early hours each day have always had to endure stressful journeys because of the potential threat posed by these dangerous vehicles. The release added that the fear of imminent danger posed by improperly lighted and badly parked, broken down, stationary and travelling un-road worthy heavy duty vehicles, has been a constant source of concern for public transportation operators and other road users.
The LCICD has expressed gratitude and encourages the Guyana Police Force to continue to diligently ensure the enforcement of this regulation for the long-term, since Lindeners need no reminding of the carnage caused by this delinquency that has brought so much tragedy to their community.
