Dear Editor,
The Mayor and City Council continues to express worry about the condition of many of its roads in different sections of the city. Many of its roadways are broken, in a state of disrepair and, in some cases, even impassable.
One reason for this is the use of these roads by single-axle, heavy-duty vehicles. A classic example is the extant negative condition of David Rose Street, South Ruimveldt Gardens caused mainly by heavy-duty, single axle vehicles hauling building materials and other things to an expanse of open land, which is now being developed by investors and other contractors, just beyond Cane View Avenue.
Irate residents have been complaining about the negative physical conditions of these roads, which make them unsafe.
It is public knowledge that the City Council does not have the wherewithal to carry out urgent road repair works. It is also public knowledge that the Council is called upon to fulfill its statutory duties, including road building, to citizens with a very narrow revenue basis. This coupled with neglect by property owners to honour their civic obligation, the lack of updated valuations in the city for over twenty years, steep increases in the costs of goods and commodities used by the Council to provide service to the citizens and a high level of indiscipline, by some, in caring for city infrastructure exacerbate the situation.
These are some of the reasons which influenced the Council’s action to begin consultations with owners and operators of heavy-duty, single axle vehicles to share the daunting challenges facing the Council and to make a contribution to the maintenance, repair and construction of roads in the City of Georgetown area.
Also, Council is mulling the idea of approaching the Guyana Revenue Authority for a percentage of revenues from licensing of vehicles, to assist with the construction and maintenance of roads and facilities that are connected to them.
Yours faithfully,
Debra Lewis
Public Relations Officer
Mayor and City Council
