No single lane traffic as promised by police

THE inconvenience caused by the blocking of  St Lucien Road, Diego Martin, continued late last night, with the contractor getting a four-hour extension pushing the closure of the St Lucien Road to 10 pm. The road was supposed to be re-opened around 6 pm. Newsday learned that the contractor responsible for the closure of the road together with a WASA official went to the St James Police Station late yesterday and secured the four-hour extension. Some residents who live in the area were forced to park their vehicles and walk long distances to their home. Other residents were unsure where to park their vehicles while others looked on in despair at the digging up operations by workmen contracted by Gowkaran Mahabir, the owner of the Vale View Townhouse development.

Also on site yesterday, were WASA officials who supervised the placing of a sewer main for the Vale View project. When Newsday visited the area yesterday and took pictures of the operations along St Lucien Road, a WASA official wanted to know why Newsday was taking pictures. He even asked an off duty policeman doing extra duties at the site to prevent Newsday from taking pictures. The officer indicated to him that he could not do anything. Some workmen on the site shouted obscene language at Newsday and used threatening language. Senior police officers told Newsday that they were informed last week that single lane traffic along St Lucien Road would have been put in place to allow residents who live in the area to get to and from their homes.

This was not carried out yesterday, as dirt dug up by a backhoe was placed on the roadway and residents of St Lucien Road were unable to gain access to their homes. Residents claimed that they are now unsure of who to turn to address their plight, since the Member of Parliament for the area has gone silent on the matter. Residents claimed that it is rather strange that one developer has been able to get permission to close a major roadway, without consideration for the inconvenience to hundreds of persons. On Saturday, there was a massive pile up of traffic in Diego Martin as the main road in the area, St Lucien Road was blocked to vehicular traffic. The road was blocked from the Wendy Fitzwilliam Boulevard to Sierra Leone Road, pushing traffic onto the Diego Martin Main Road.