MEMBERS OF the West Kings House Citizens Association are up in arms over what they deem the 'eyesore' and 'invasion' of their residential area caused by the influx of people doing business with the Canadian High Commission on Waterloo Road.
"The High Commission attracts a lot of undesirables. I tried to talk to one of the taxi-men parked in front of my gate asking him to let me out, and he threatened me with a lass, and then chopped my son's car," one incensed resident told a meeting at the Mayfair Hotel on Thursday night.
Others shared what they called unpleasant and dangerous encounters with people conducting business in the vicinity of the High Commission.
"One person has even set up a little shop at the corner of the street next to a man's home. There are no waste receptacles; no sanitary conveniences, and no parking. It is just madness, at six o'clock in the morning, lots of us can't get out of our yards. There is an intolerable influx of undesirables offering threats of violence, urinating anywhere, and disposing of garbage in your yard," Robert MacMillan, a resident of the area for the past decade, said.
"My car was towed away from my gate by a wrecker truck," wailed one woman.
"Hands up those who have had break-ins over the last few weeks," one man says. Suddenly, the air is populated by at least six hands.
"I've lost a car," one man chimes in.
"Kings Way is bound to collapse soon. It wasn't made for this sort of day in day out heavy traffic," another man added sourly.
The complaints of the residents are almost petulant, and there seems to be an endless flow of them. However, solutions are hard to find.
"Embassies feel they are literally above the law. Look at the indignities we endured for years at Oxford Road to travel to the United States just to get a visa, and now, with the move of the Canadian High Commission to Waterloo Road, another overseas mission and its operations has come into negative public focus. They couldn't go to any other country and behave like this," one woman said.
The High Commission was opened 11 months ago, and the problem has grown exponentially worse. Dialogue with officials at the embassy has only yielded commiserations and a statement that 'the situation was not the embassy's responsibility.
But there may be hope yet.
Opposition Member of Parliament for St. Andrew North East Delroy Chuck said he was in dialogue with a number of persons to fix the problem
"Phillip Gore is quite willing to sell the cholera cemetery to be used as a parking lot if the High Commission is willing to buy it. I have got a commitment from 'Lift Up Jamaica' to fix the cemetery. I have also spoken to John Robinson and he's willing to fix the cemetery as long as the money goes towards the beautification of the cemetery. If Phillip Gore goes along with the idea to beautify the cemetery and allow car park space, then it can happen," Chuck explained.
But residents remain sceptical about the 'iffy' nature of the arrangement.
A 63-year-old retiree confided:
"I am making plans to get a two-bedroom apartment but I haven't told anyone... I can't take this much longer."
