Starting today, buses that ply Route Six from Spanish Town to Portmore will have to use the transportation park along King Street in the Old Capital, not the one along Burke Road.

The decision was made during a meeting at the St Catherine Parish Council with members of the Island Special Constabulary Force, Jamaica Constabulary Force, the National Works Agency, the parish council and members of Jamaica Association of Taxi Owners and Operators.

The Gleaner has been advised that a rift had developed between the police and park operators, who sometimes picked up passengers along Burke Road.

"The problem was that the operators were told that the park was built for them and that they need to use it. However, no proper structure, such as security, was in place, and that resulted in a problem, but the meeting with the mayor resolved all that," Louis Baritone, president of JABOT, said.

The additional 50 buses from Portmore will join public passenger vehicles that ply the Ocho Rios to Spanish Town route and other vehicles heading to Lauriston and Tredegar Park.

One-way road

Meanwhile, come January, King Street will become a one-way road, leading on to Burke Road. Some bus stops along sections of Burke Road, en route to the Spanish Town Hospital, will be removed.

This is to prevent commuter embarkation of public passenger vehicles along the corridor, The Gleaner learnt.

The St Catherine North police said it would seek to address security concerns, promising to maintain a visible presence in the newly established park.

rasbert.turner@gleanerjm.com