Schools, villagers want 'sleeping policemen' put back to curb speeding
by Wendella Davidson
IT IS only two weeks since the removal of humps (sleeping policemen) along the East Coast railway embankment roadway, and heads of several schools and villagers as well have expressed concern for the safety of their lives. This fear stems from the dangerous speeding of motor vehicles along the roadway, a practice which had been curbed by the humps. Tuesday, Chief Roads Officer in the Ministry of Works, Mr Donald Walcott, confirmed that he had received complaints from schools, among them New Friendship Nursery and Vryheid's Lust Primary, as well as from villagers about vehicles "flying" at terrific speeds along the Railway Embankment road. The humps were initially put in place between Coldingen and Shell Road, Kitty, during the construction phase as a deterrent to motorists given to speeding on good roadways. But they were recently removed after the authorities observed that motorists preferred to use the East Coast roadway, where there were no obstacles to speeding, forsaking the other roadway and its sleeping policemen. On Tuesday, school heads, villagers and the chairman of a Parent Teacher's Association, with whom the Chronicle spoke, all expressed grave concern at the speeding on the road where the humps have been removed, and asked that they be put back wherever schools are located. In an invited comment, Minister of Hydraulics and Transport, Mr Anthony Xavier, this week acknowledged that there are "quite a few" schools along the road, and that if the request is granted it will mean that quite a few humps will have to be put down. He noted that in such a case, a decision will have to be made on whether the use of the road is of more importance than the safety of the people who use it. The Minister also remarked that there is a "blatant disregard for the laws of this country, where traffic is concerned," and has appealed for people to observe the traffic laws. Chairman of the Mon Repos Parent Teacher's Association Mr Jai Rampersaud, views the removal of the humps as dangerous, since, as according to him there are over 1,000 children attending the school, from the numerous catchment areas. In addition, there is a nursery section which has a fair enrollment. All the children of these schools are not accustomed to such traffic in the village. Rampersaud said the issue was on the agenda for discussion during a meeting of the PTA scheduled for this week. Both Headmaster Thakue Sukhai and a senior teacher at the School, Mrs Lynette Munroe, said even the school's safety patrols are at risk when they attempt to have children cross the road. "There are some motorists who ignore them, though they are shown the signal," she says. Ms Munroe added that even adults experience difficulty crossing the road. Repeated efforts to get a comment from the Police Traffic Department on Tuesday were unsuccessful. At a Police press briefing last month, Traffic Chief Paul Slowe had appealed to members of the public to use the roads carefully. He said then that not only the drivers of minibuses and hire-cars misuse the roadway, but pedestrians, and schoolchildren, as well as those driving animal-drawn vehicles, were also guilty of infringing the traffic regulations.
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