Garth Rattray | Who is planning for our future? (Part 1)

I genuinely wish that I had (at least) some of the answers to our current problems. But the really scary thing is that it is clear that we are going to face serious problems in the future for which we don’t appear to be planning and, therefore, have no solutions.

A growing and looming problem is traffic congestion. Efforts have been made to temporarily alleviate (not solve) all-day peak traffic. Despite the widening and dual carriageway on Hagley Park Road, sometimes swells of traffic form long lines in both directions. Obviously, things are only going to get worse. I strongly suspect that it is going to be one of those impending “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” situations.

Navigating the major cities often involves spending more time standing still or slowly creeping along than time spent on the move. This results in major delays, the impeding of public-transport systems, obstructing of emergency vehicles, unhealthy sitting for hours, short tempers, wasting important man-hours, wear and tear on engines, a lot of heat production, tons of pollutants from vehicle exhaust, and countless millions in wasted precious fuel. We are not being told of the economic losses and ecological pollution caused by traffic, but they are significant, especially for a struggling nation such as ours that imported 50,786 motor vehicles last year alone.

I recall when the Government made thousands of workers redundant. There was a flood of unemployed citizens investing in minibuses and taxicabs. The poor state of our public transport system opened the door to desperate entrepreneurs filling the gap one way or the other. The ‘robot taxi’ and illegal minibuses got out of hand, and their participation was formalised. This was a short-term solution to an extremely long-term problem. The real solution would have been to significantly improve our public- transport system by making it way more efficient, punctual, dependable, and safe.

DEVELOPED

Reserved government-owned lands beside storm water canals (what we call ‘gullies’) could have been developed as accessory roadways to reduce traffic congestion. But the lazy, lackadaisical, inefficient, corrupt, and lack of accountability habits of some in our municipalities allowed the explosion of squatter communities, especially in illegal and precarious places. Now, many abut ‘gullies’ and use them for refuse and human-waste disposal.

They are also the dumping ground for large items and are deteriorating, evidenced by crumbling walls, denuded flooring, and even the existence of small islands of flora within them.

I did not realise that the traffic on the ‘North Coast Highway’ could be so terrible. I went to Montego Bay on a regular afternoon, in a regular work week, and experienced a crawl along much of the corridor in both directions leading to St Ann’s Bay and its environs. Impatient lawbreakers were using the hard shoulder as an additional lane, overtaking long lines of traffic, overtaking at intersections, weaving dangerously in and out of traffic, and generally adding to the mayhem. This is not sustainable. Someone needs to come up with a long-term solution very soon.

Urban planning is a serious concern. After investing their life’s savings in communities where homes are similar, perhaps even uniform in height and design; after seeking out places where there is [relative] peace and quiet; after planning to be able to retire in an uncongested community where neighbours know one another; after perhaps planning to rent to decent people, or sell to liquidate funds for emerging exigencies, the Government decided, without any concern for existing citizens, to either ignore or bend or change the rules to facilitate the construction of multistorey, multifamily, commercial-looking dwellings that invade and ‘uglify’ hitherto pleasant and serene residential communities.

MULTI-STOREY BUILDINGS

Every time that I see massive, multistorey buildings being erected, and sprawling housing communities being developed, I wonder if they were properly planned and if the rules and regulations are being followed. I note the genuine and serious concern only now being raised regarding a huge and towering construction that will compromise the security of our top government officials and visiting dignitaries. As was pointed out by security expert Mr Finzi-Smith, such a thing would never happen in (say) Washington, DC, near to the White House. But this is Jamaica.

I also wonder how those new and numerous developments are going to be supplied with the necessary amenities. Jamaica is already experiencing problems with power, water, and digital communication. I am not aware of any plans to improve or increase them to facilitate our rapidly expanding residential and commercial needs. I envision many more power outages and load shedding due to the inability to keep up with the demand. I also envision increased water rationing, lock-offs, and digital communication shortfalls. This record drought is only a promise of things to come. It’s no use constructing roofs with the capability to catch rainwater when there is little or no precipitation.

As far back as in the early 1980s, I was surprised to learn that leaky supply lines were a major cause of our potable water woes. Efforts have been made to upgrade the ancient pipes but not nearly enough. Water is life … we must modernise water-supply pipes and construct reservoirs to harness and store rainwater or face the dire consequences of our apparent catatonia in this matter.

Next week, health and other issues.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.