
'Sitting duck' on Mandela Highway
Published: Thursday | December 11, 2008
THE EDITOR, Sir:
It is Saturday evening. I am stationary in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Mandela Highway, heading towards Ferry, having just negotia-ted the traffic lights exiting from the Portmore environs. This side of the highway on which I am is lower than the other side heading out of Kingston. The speed of the vehicles heading out of Kingston makes them veritable missiles which hurtle past, not very far from me.
Then a grave realisation hits me. There is no median whatsoever to protect me from those vehicles if one should get out of control. I am, literally a sitting duck as I wait on the traffic to move on the highway.
Every modern highway has some protective median, be it concrete, metal or cladded concrete to protect the users of the road from crossing the divide. While there is a partial median in the environs of the overpass, this is not enough, and trees at intermittent intervals do not do the job.
Will the relevant authorities take appropriate action before tragedy strikes?
I am, etc.,
RUDOLPH MUIR
Attorney-at-law
PS: This was written on
Sunday, September 28
before the tragic accident
of the past weekend.