Toll bosses want power to fine pedestrians, tailgate cheats
Published:Thursday | April 28, 2022 | 12:09 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter
The Toll Authority of Jamaica is pushing for legislative authority to impose fines on pedestrians who encroach on toll roads and to penalise motorists for tailgating.
An agency of the Ministry of Transport and Mining, the Authority also wants legislative backing to regulate advertisements on the toll roads as well as to make it mandatory for future concessionaires to pay toll-monitoring fees to the regulatory body.
Transport and Mining Minister Audley Shaw said the Toll Authority also wants to be empowered to apply monetary sanctions on toll operators for non-compliance in the remedying of any defects or damage to the toll road infrastructure.
Shaw made these comments while making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Wednesday.
The Toll Authority is mandated to monitor toll operators through routine inspections of infrastructure, traffic-control management, employee safety practices, and observation of traffic flows.
Concerns regarding pedestrian encroachment relate to the traffic hazard posed by animal herdsmen or others walking along the high-speed, no-go zones. A pedestrian was killed in a motor vehicle crash along the toll road near Linstead, St Catherine, in late January.
Tailgating motorists have sometimes cheated the money collectors by beating the retractable barrier.
Turning to the mining portfolio, Shaw said that the Jamaica Bauxite Mining (JBM) Company Limited has taken steps to commercialise bottled water extracted from the spring on its Ocho Rios property. He said the water will be distributed in bulk to the cruise lines that dock at the Reynolds Pier.
“This innovative project will promote Jamaica’s alkaline natural resource and will provide an economically viable revenue stream to JBM,” he added.
The project is slated to be launched in October this year.
Other JBM plans include an industrial park involving the restoration of three dilapidated buildings into 60,000 square feet of modern storage facilities for commercial rental, a commercial park, and further development of the Reynolds Pier.
The JBM has also earmarked 150 acres within the Lydford Estate to build 500 housing units. Shaw said that the affordable housing development will support the ecosystem infrastructure of the Lydford Industrial and Commercial Park projects. The project is scheduled to start in December 2022.
Meanwhile, Shaw disclosed that late last year, the UC Rusal started making payments towards the US$35 million in bauxite production levy owed for the period April 2018 to September 2021.
Between November 2021 and March 2022, approximately 45 per cent of the outstanding sum was paid to the Capital Development Fund. A structured plan for payment of the remaining amount has been developed.