Woodpecker Avenue residents cry out

Residents who live and work in a section of Waltham Park Road in the vicinity of Woodpecker Avenue, say they are dying from the dust and may not live to use the roadway being developed.

Residents voiced their disgust and highlighted how they have had to surrender to the dust nuisance.

A female resident told THE STAR, “The dust terrible. Mi affi run go inna mi house when mi come a road; and when mi a go road mi affi rush go inna a transportation. From the roadwork start a bare dust.”

Another resident

Ftold our ood vendor Andrea ‘Angie’ Persuad says her customers are usually attracted to her fresh produce.

However, the current dust nuisance caused by roadworks along Waltham Park Road has caused a decline in sales.

So bad is the situation, that she has shifted her business, moving her stall from off the main road to a strategic point along the intersecting Woodpecker Avenue.

Angie said, “Bare dust; and when the rain fall, round deh flood out, so mi affi run. With the rain, a now and again the water run down this side. But the dust? Every vehicle pass me get dust up or when the breeze blow; my God.”

A greater portion of the interview was conducted with Angie covering her nose and mouth with a red meshed shirt.

Even customers who braved the dust to stop and make a purchase, did so in a hurry as they complained of the dust nuisance.

According to Angie her produce can’t stay fresh for too long.

She told THE STAR, “The dust dirty up the stuff dem and mek dem look dirty. It even mek me news team that the dust has triggered his sinusitis.

He said, “The dust bad, we affi a try hide. A bare sinus problem the people dem round ya a go have. Who nuh have it already, must have it. A di worst case this I ever see and nobody business with it. That’s why a bare sick people we a go have around here.”

The dust, which is apparently gathered mostly at the intersection of Waltham Park Road and Woodpecker Avenue, resembling a dust bowl, is disbursed into the atmosphere by the passing vehicles or wind.

A resident told THE STAR, “When there is traffic on the road the dust blow, but not so look dirty, because me sit out here all day. It give the tomato dem a little dark colour. Every minute mi affi get water and wipe dem off. All the pumpkin hard. But when the road is clear, the driver dem dust we up roun here. Food can’t eat inna your own home, dust kill yuh. If yuh go on my veranda now, it come in like yuh tek yuh hand catch the dust and fling it deh.”

A senior citizen told THE STAR, “The dust affect we bad bad. We soon dead off, some a we nah go get fi use the new road dem say dem a build. Dust is killing us.”

Even folks who work in the area told our news team they have issues with the dust.

“I don’t live here, so I can’t speak to the dust entering my home. But when I walk to work I am affected; and when I go out on the road to get transportation to leave, the dust is a nuisance. They need to do something dem look black.”

Angie has been selling at the location since February, before the roadworks began.

Since the work started, she about it. It’s not healthy,” the worker said.

THE STAR tried without success to speak with one of the supervisors on the road project; however, our news team was told to talk directly with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the project contractors.

Several calls to CHEC were not answered.