Run roadway through King’s House lands

THE EDITOR, Sir:

PRIOR TO the major road-expansion projects currently taking place at Barbican Square and along Constant Spring Road in St Andrew, as is the case with projects of that nature, particular sections of lands owned by business people, homeowners and, in one case, a church, were negotiated and bought by the Government.

No matter the purchase prices negotiated, it must have been difficult for the sellers to give up a portion of their precious lands, but, as has been the case since independence, Jamaicans have had to sacrifice much in order to comply with the demands, plans and policies of successive governments, for the greater good of the country.

In that regard, it seems to me that it’s high time for the Government to make some sacrifices of its own, for the greater good. For instance, a portion of the section of the Kings House lands, which runs parallel to East Kings House Road, could be used to facilitate a four-lane road – similar to newly built ones at Barbican Square – which would run from East Kings House Road to a suitable point along Barbican Road, and vice versa.

SAVE TIME

For decades, that section of the King’s House lands has been idle, save and except for the power plant, which resides on it. The existence of such a road would save motorists a significant amount of the current time it takes to travel from East Kings House Road to Barbican Road and other neighbouring communities, such as Russell Heights, Acadia, Grants Pen, Shortwood Road, etc., and vice versa.

In fact, a major road running through the aforementioned land would have proved far more practical and far less cumbersome – construction-wise, cost-wise and logistics-wise – when compared to the newly constructed ones.