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March 11, 2007 - Residents want toll operator to reinvest in Portmore |
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| Dec 2, 2005 - Bye Bye Bouygues? | |||
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Portmore residents lobby for reduced toll
published: Friday | March 16, 2007
A
delegation from the Portmore/Hellshire community yesterday
presented a 4,200-signature petition to Prime Minister Portia
Simpson Miller, seeking her intervention in addressing what the
group described as the "unjust situation facing us as a result
of the conversion of the Portmore causeway to a toll road".
The residents are seeking a reduction of the toll charge to $30 for class one vehicles and $70 for class two vehicles. The current charges are $60 and $100, respectively. The eight-point petition presented to the Prime Minister is also seeking a 24-month moratorium on any increase in the toll rate. In an immediate response, the Prime Minister charged Development Minister Donald Buchanan with the responsibility of chairing a team comprising representatives of the Ministry of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, the National Works Agency, TransJamaican Highway, and the National Road Operating and Constructing Company Ltd., to meet with a group from the Portmore community to discuss the petition and put forward their recommendation for consideration by Cabinet. Dialogue welcome Mrs. Simpson Miller praised the residents for the responsible manner in which they have dealt with their concerns and said the dialogue and understanding were welcome. Representing the Portmore citizens at the meeting were Yvonne McCormack, of the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Council; Byron Buckley of the All Hellshire Leadership Council; Howard Hamilton of the Greater Portmore Joint Citizens' Association and Dolkeith Harriott. TOP |
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October 1, 2006 - Petition launched by residents
The CAUSE for a right of WAY to our homes
To the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller.
We the undersigned residents of Jamaica and the municipality of Portmore, St Catherine hereby petition you to use your good office to effect the following on our behalf as we believe that the imposition of the toll road, without a suitable alternative is unjust.
1. A revision of the toll charges on the Portmore causeway to:
a. -$30 for class one vehicles (Private)
b. -$70 for class two vehicles (Commercial)
2. A 24-month review period of toll rates be implemented with only single digit increases.
3. The widening of the Mandela Highway to six lanes to facilitate the additional traffic
from the Bushy Park/Spanish Town leg of Highway 2000.
4. The removal of the roundabout leading out of Portmore onto the Mandela Highway.
5. The inclusion of a soft shoulder to the Dyke road.
6. The repair of the Rio Cobre River Bridge exiting onto the Mandela Highway.
7. The widening of Marcus Garvey Drive.
8. The immediate resettlement of the fisher folks who were removed from the Portmore Causeway
so they can continue their livelihood.
Signed
______________________________________________________________________________ TOP
July 9, 2006 - Residents Plan Boycott- The Portmore Citizen Advisory Council headed by Ms Yvonne McCormack, announced a Total Boycott of the Toll Bridge in response to the announced $60/$100/$200 Toll rates. Below are the plans for the boycott.
A TOTAL BOYCOTT of the Toll Road initially for the summer holidays. This we believe will give them time to re think their position and adjust the rate to our proposed $30. Hopefully, they will realize that we have the power in our hands to foil their financial plans and so will yield to our demands.
PEOPLE POWER: After the summer period, if they do not adjust the toll rate, we will tighten the noose and include other measures to send them an even stronger message
DO NOT BUY THE TAG. It is inevitable that we may need to use the Toll Bridge,however, if that happens, USE CASH, and do not give the exact change. There is no real benefit to the T-Tag. It is only there to increase their cash flow and prevent a bottleneck at the toll plaza. Our plan will not work if you buy the Tag.
SPREAD THE WORD. Tell your neighbor, get them involved. We can succeed if we all do this together. PEOPLE POWER.
LONG ROAD AHEAD: Prepare for a long, long struggle. Be courteous and patient with each other when stuck in traffic.
Portmore Causeway for sale? Port
Authority considers purchasing old bridge
published: Saturday | July 1,
2006
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
WITH THE sixth phase of its expansion programme waiting in the wings, the rapidly spreading Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) is considering the purchase of the causeway from the Government.
Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Housing, Water, Transport and Works, raised the issue of the PAJ's interest in buying the causeway during a meeting with Portmore residents last week Thursday at the ministry's Maxfield Avenue offices.
The revelation has triggered an alarm among some Portmore residents who are now looking at the legal implications of the causeway being sold in light of arguments put forward in court by the Government regarding the soundness of the bridge.
ALTERNATIVE ROUTE
"It is something that we will definitely look at from a legal aspect because the reason why we could not have our alternative route there was because the bridge was to be taken down," Howard Hamilton, president of the Portmore Pines Citizens' Association told The Gleaner yesterday.
PAJ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Noel Hylton, confirmed its interest in the bridge.
"It is a possibility that the PAJ might be interested in purchasing the causeway to move containers between the two terminals ... (that is) the existing terminal and the one coming on stream," Mr. Hylton told The Gleaner.
He, however, hastened to point out that the purchase would not be in the near future but rather in the long run.
Mr. Hylton said that, if the Government decided to demolish the bridge, then the PAJ would declare its interest at that time.
He suggested that, while the PAJ has not formally ap-proached the Government with its interest to purchase, some informal communication may have already been made TOP
| Portmore wants $20 toll |
| BY TANEISHA DAVIDSON Observer staff reporte Thursday, June 22, 2006 |
RESIDENTS of Portmore, St Catherine will have to wait until tomorrow to know the amount they will be required to pay to use the Portmore/Kingston leg of Highway 2000, as a meeting planned for yesterday with the transport minister was set back.
The government said last Friday that the toll would be announced Monday. But Colin Campbell, the information minister, told reporters that Cabinet had agreed on the toll, but the announcement would not be made until Wednesday, when the transport minister, Robert Pickersgill, was expected to return to the island and meet with residents of the St Catherine community.
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| A Portmore resident expresses his concern about the proposed toll for the Portmore/Kingston leg of Highway 2000 at Tuesday night's meeting at the Portmore Lions Civic Centre. (Photo: Llewellyn Wynter) |
In the meantime, Portmore residents, in a marathon meeting Tuesday night, threatened to boycott the use of the high-speed motorway if the toll charge is above $20 for class one vehicles (motor cars).
The residents, who were attending a meeting called by the Portmore Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC) at the Lions Civic Centre, were also adamant that the toll road should not be open until feeder roads were repaired.
"Twenty dollars is the most we are willing
to pay, and anything over that we are willing to turn the highway into a parking
lot," an angry resident said.
Yvonne McCormack, president of the PCAC, had urged residents to give the group a
mandate to take into the meeting with Minister Pickersgill.
However, there is likely to be a showdown when the toll road opens on July 13, as government on Monday announced a toll cap of $79, but is likely to apply a subsidy and bring the rate down to $60, which will not find favour with residents of the growing community of more than 250,000 people.
The meeting also recommended that the elderly be exempt from paying a toll charge, and that the toll charge, which is normally reviewed every six months, be extended to at least one year.
"Pensioners should not pay a toll. I believe that they should be allowed to drive on the highway free of cost," Major Herman Douglas, a resident of Portmore said. "We bought our houses on the understanding that we would be able to drive on the road free of cost," he added.
At the same time, the residents said that a member of the Portmore community should be placed on the review committee with respect to the toll tariff.
But Tuesday's meeting was not dissimilar to previous meetings held by the PCAC to discuss the controversial toll issue. There were shouting matches as tempers flared and insults were hurled at some of the resident who made what seem like unfavourable suggestions. One residents stood at the microphone for almost 15 minutes, trying to voice his suggestion of $30 for cars, $60 for SUVs and $100 for trucks amidst heckles and boos.
"Unu nuh seh nothing to me, we pay tax, unu suppose to provide us with information," said one irate resident, who accused political representatives present of failing to provide the residents with information about the toll.
Meantime, the residents said they were furious over the fact that they had not been able to meet the transport minister for more than a year to discuss the toll. Pickersgill last met with the residents last year March.
"Why has he been so elusive; is he too busy
or are we not important enough?" one resident asked. "He should come and talk to
us."
Joseph Dalrymple, one of the first residents that advocated against a toll
charge, likened the situation to a dagger being thrust into the residents of
Portmore.
"If we the residents of Portmore accept what the government is saying to us then it is going to be like the Eskimo and the people from the Sahara Dessert trying to sell them ice," he said.
"I find it very hard to accept that the government has already made a decision about the toll...I don't have any hope (that the toll is going to be favourable), but I am prepared to park in the middle of that highway."
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Lower toll - Venezuelan loan may keep cost down for
Portmore commuters
published: Wednesday |
January 4, 2006
Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
Buses travel along the causeway which connects Portmore, St.
Catherine, to the Corporate Area, on April 4 last year. Prime Minister P.J.
Patterson yesterday announced that a $300 million loan by the Venezuelan
Government could reduce the cost of the toll to be implemented. - NORMAN
GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
TOLL COSTS for the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 could be kept down, thanks to a low-interest loan of up to US$300 million ($19 billion) from the Venezuelan Government, said Prime Minister P.J. Patterson yesterday.
Portmore residents had expressed anger at a proposed toll of J$65 (US$1). But a Gleaner-commissioned survey of 600 Portmore drivers, conducted last August by Johnson Survey Research Ltd., revealed that most would only be willing to pay J$30. The Supreme Court last year ruled in favour of Government naming Mandela Highway as a suitable alternative to the toll road in a lawsuit brought by the residents.
But yesterday, ahead of a pending meeting with Portmore residents, the Prime Minister hinted at the possibility of them paying a favourable toll for usage of the new highway and six-lane bridge that link the sprawling St. Catherine community to the Corporate Area.
LOW-COST LOAN
"The idea is to replace high-price commercial debt with a low-cost loan and it will have implications for the Highway 2000 project and also (future) toll prices," Mr. Patterson disclosed yesterday in response to enquiries from The Gleaner. The total projected cost for all phases of Highway 2000 is US$390 million (J$25 billion).
Portmore Mayor George Lee welcomed the Prime Minister's news.
"We are certainly happy, if it would be a reasonable and affordable toll, although we still need more details which we hope will come from our meeting with the Prime Minister," the mayor said.
The meeting with Portmore residents, granted by the Prime Minister, is yet to be scheduled, noted Mr. Lee, but he added, "I have every confidence it will be in the near future."
Although the Prime Minister did not disclose the interest rate at which Venezuela is lending Jamaica the highway money, he said concerns that the loan would upset the international money market have also been resolved. Mr. Patterson said negotiations have now been finalised and he is currently writing a letter to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for the go-ahead.
To date, Highway 2000 has been financed jointly by the Government of Jamaica, which raised funds from the local money market via a bond issue, as well as commercial bank loans to TransJamaican Highway, the local developing arm of French construction firm, Bouygues Travaux Publics.
Mr. Patterson said the Venezuelan loan will also be used to speed up the Ocho Rios leg of Highway 2000, as well as finance an islandwide road repair project.
Bye bye Bouygues? - French developer of Highway
2000 threatens to pull out of Jamaica
published: Friday | December
2, 2005 Tyrone
Reid, Staff Reporter
THE FAILURE to meet overly optimistic financial projections by Trans Jamaica Highway (TJH) will force Bouygues Travaux Publics Construction Company, contractors for Highway 2000, to leave the island next year without completing the first phase of the multibillion-dollar project.
Jean-Noel Foulard, director of Bouygues Travaux in Jamaica, told The Gleaner that his company will 'lock shop' in July 2006 if TJH does not provide the requisite funds for the completion of the May Pen to Williamsfield, Mandeville leg of the highway by that time, when the Portmore leg is slated for completion.
Trevor Jackson, managing director for Trans Jamaica Highway, a subsidiary of the Jamaican arm of Bouygues Travaux responsible for securing the finances, confirmed that construction on the final leg of the first phase would not begin before mid 2007 when funding is secured.
"The finance will not be in place by July next year," Mr. Jackson told The Gleaner late yesterday.
"No funding, that means in July we will leave. We not staying here in Jamaica just looking in the sky ... we not here just for fun," said Mr. Foulard in reaction to Mr. Jackson's statement.
Mr. Jackson pointed out that no attempt had been made to secure funding for the final leg of the highway. He explained that banks are very cautious in putting up funds, so the Portmore phase of the project must prove its worth before funding can be secured for the final leg. "The process is opening first, demonstrate credibility, then seek financing," he said.
The entire first phase of the project which should cover 74 kilometres was slated to be completed at a cost of US$390 million (J$25.3 billion).
Mr. Jackson confessed that the Highway 2000 project would be approximately two years off the projected completion date of 2008. He explained that one of the primary reasons for the delay was the fact that securing funding for the project has proved a more difficult task than anticipated. "We had aggressive assumptions in terms of securing finances ... possibly too aggressive in our initial assumptions," Mr. Jackson said.
COST OVERRUN
The late completion of the project is compounded by the fact that the project will cost the Government more than initial projections indicated.
"The Government will be paying more than they initially thought," Jackson admitted. This, he said was not a cost overrun, but rather related to changes in the initial plans. One example he cited was the expansion of the Port Authority, which forced the contractors to go outside of their initial projections.
Also, sources close to The Gleaner claimed the Government has been experiencing difficulties in paying Trans Jamaica Highway. However, Mr. Jackson dispelled the allegation.
Portmore tenders toll deal (Gleaner, Nov. 16, 2005)
RESIDENTS OF Portmore, St. Catherine, have agreed to an eight-point recommendation, which they plan to submit to Prime Minster P.J. Patterson when they meet with him to discuss the controversial toll road.
Mayor of Portmore, George Lee, told the Gleaner yesterday that the number one recomnedation was for a significant upgrading of the Mandela Highway.
At a public forum held on Tuesday night in Portmore, Mayor Lee said the residents requested that the Mandela Highway be increased to a six lane highway from its present four.
He explained that because of the construction of the underpass and bridge to link I-95 with the Mandela Highway, only one-lane traffic is now possible from the roundabout to Mandela Highway. “The alternative proposal is that the road near the Mandela entrance called Cow Lane be upgraded and a new bridge be built linking Mandela to the Dyke Road.” Mayor Lee said.
This, the Mayor noted, would allow for one way traffic out of Portmore and a new road would become one-way into Portmore.
Other recommendations are:
1. The Portmore Municipality be provided with a portion of the revenue the Government will obtain form the toll road. This will be placed in a development fund to undertake developments in the municipality.
2. The bridge that spans the Rio Cobre river in the vicinity of the Mnadela Highway at the entrance to Portmore be inspected and improved.
3. Marcus Garvey Drive to be significantly upgraded up to Hagley Park RoAD with a flyover to facilitate the proper flow of traffic.
4. The Port Henderson road to be upgraded as a major exit point.
5. That there be an agreement that in the event of a major disaster, all six lanes of the highway be opened for exit from Portmore.
May Lee said that the residents also suggested that the upgrading projects for Marcus Garvey Drive, Mandela Highway and the Port Hendrson road should be finalized before the opening of the toll road, which is scheduled for June 2006
The following article was written by the Current Affairs Committee, The Law Academy.
Portmore Residents simplistic, certainly not!
Irate residents of Portmore, St. Catherine vent their dissatisfaction about
the construction of the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 at a meeting with
Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill, at the Portmore HEART
Academy in March this year.
Howard Campbell1, Gleaner writer
THE VERDICT is in for phase one of the Portmore citizens versus Government construction of a toll road connecting Kingston to that community, but some residents of the St. Catherine housing development are adamant that the fight is far from over.
On Tuesday, Justice Gloria Smith overruled a case by the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Council (PCAC) that said Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill, had acted illegally in (1) Declaring the proposed six-lane stretch a toll road and (2) Naming the Mandela Highway an alternative non-paying route.
The Causeway bridge which connects Kingston to Portmore will be demolished once the new bridge is completed. Mr. Pickersgill expects this to take place in 2006.
The PCAC has had several heated clashes with Mr. Pickersgill during the last year and it is not known whether they plan to appeal Justice Smith's ruling. Another coalition, the Portmore Joint Citizens' Association, has a similar case to be heard by the Supreme Court early next week.
When The Sunday Gleaner visited sections of Portmore Friday, some persons were still seething over Justice Smith's stance. Others said they had no problem with the new bridge but were concerned that they would pay a hefty toll fee.
BRACING FOR THE TOLL
Lloyd Leachman and his wife live in Edgewater, one of the oldest housing schemes in Portmore. They see the new bridge as a progressive move but are bracing for the price of the toll which Government says may be as high as $60.
"As long as the rate is reasonable and affordable, I don't have a problem with it," said Mrs. Leachman. "But you've got to remember that there are people going into town two, three times, a day. We in Portmore should have a reduced rate or something that we don't have to pay every time," she added.
Another Edgewater resident, who chose not to give his name, said the Government's approach is heavy handed.
"I don't see why when each time I come out of my house and go to work or anywhere, I have to pay ... It can't be fair," said the man who works in Kingston. "I don't know the amount that we are going to pay but I know this Government. They start a thing and say $60 but as soon as two months pass, it gone up to $200."
In nearby Bridgeview, another man who declined to give his name, was just as scathing.
"They should keep the causeway because the alternative is no good," he stated.
"I tried it one morning to go into town ... if I travel the causeway it takes me 45 minutes but it took me an hour and a half to reach when I used the Mandela."
COSTS WILL BE TOO HIGH
He pointed out that he commuted to Kingston several times per day either on business or to take his child to school. "It's going to cost me a whole heap of money."
Over in Passagefort, Winston Frazier and Dwight are both involved in the delivery business which sees them trekking to Kingston regularly.
"Wi need a new road still, yuh nuh, but it a go affect me 'cause mi mek all four trip a day go Kingston," said Dwight, a stocky twenty-something who has lived in Portmore for 10 years. "But if dem set it at a price wey good wi can deal wid it."
Mr. Frazier, who looked to be in his mid-50s, sang the same tune.
"It's a good move but I don't respect what dem doing and disband the old road. We must have an alternative if we can't pay the toll," said the 20-year Portmore resident. "If dem have a toll, it mus' be a minimum wey most a wi can afford."
The new Portmore bridge is the latest leg of Government's 240-kilometre Highway 2000 project. The Mandela Highway and Sandy Bay in Clarendon have already been completed.
July 28, 2005 -
Lee,
Pickersgill road rage
published: Friday | July
29, 2005
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20050729/lead/lead1.html
Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Minister of Transport and Works Robert Pickersgill (left), in a
heated argument with Mayor of Portmore George Lee (right), during a tour of
the Portmore phase of Highway 2000, yesterday. Looking on are Millicent Lynch
(second left), president of the Portmore chamber of commerce and Sharon
Hay-Webster, Member of Parliament for south central St. Catherine. - NORMAN
GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
DING, DING, ding! Let's get ready to rumble! A tour of the unfinished Portmore leg of Highway 2000 by Government officials and contractors yesterday took an unexpected turn when a heated squabble broke out between Transport and Works Minister Robert Pickersgill and Portmore Mayor George Lee.
The mayor was upset about what he said was serious damage being done to roads in Portmore by overloaded trucks transporting material for the construction of the new highway. And in true George Lee fashion, he let Mr. Pickersgill have it.
It all started when the large air-conditioned bus in which the group was travelling came to a stop in the vicinity of the causeway. The group exited the bus and seemed to be enjoying the tour of the area. For a moment, all was well with the world. But this did not last very long, as the situation got ugly in a hurry, when Mr. Pickersgill started to address journalists about the progress of the construction efforts. It was a fuming Mayor Lee who cut him off mid-speech.
"I need to know what is going to be done about the roads that are being damaged!" he exclaimed.
To this, the Transport Minister responded, "I have already told you several times, the weight scales are going in!" But Mayor Lee would have none of it. He hit back with the clever: "But the damage is already done!" Round One, Mayor Lee.
INCREASED SANCTIONS
But the bickering did not end there. Mr. Pickersgill went on to try and calm the incensed mayor, by explaining to him that recent amendments to the Road Traffic Act will see increased sanctions being imposed for overweight vehicles. This only seemed to get the already riled-up mayor even more upset. "I have a problem with that foolishness, Mr. Minister!" he shouted.
With a puzzled expression peeking out behind his customary dark sunglasses, the minister retorted: "What you mean you have a problem with that? What you mean, you didn't want us to change the law?" Round Two, Mr. Pickersgill.
As the hissy fit ensued, the minister's public relations personnel tried to intervene. They quietly crept up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Ah, Sir, the sun is very hot, let's go back on the bus and we can discuss it further," they whispered. But their efforts, though persistent, fell on deaf ears. The verbal battle went on.
When both men returned to their corners and had calmed down significantly, they downplayed their earlier wrangling.
Mayor Lee admitted that he was pleased to hear the minister say that scales had been installed which would ensure that trucks would not exceed the weight limit. He, however, said he wanted to know when the already damaged roads would be fixed.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pickersgill said he fully understood the mayor's point about overloaded trucks doing damage to the roads. He, however, promised that with the amendments to the law and the installation of the weight scales, very soon the problem would be solved. TOP
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
PORTMORE RESIDENTS will be forced to use the Mandela Highway as an alternative route to the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 following yesterday's ruling of the Judicial Review Court.
Miss Justice Gloria Smith, in handing down her decision found that the Minister of Transport and Works, did not act unlawfully in designating the Portmore Causeway as a toll road because there was an alternative route in the same area which was accessible to vehicular and other traffic as required under the Toll Roads Act.
The Portmore Citizens Advisory Council and the Portmore Joint Citizens Association had brought the motion seeking declarations that the minister breached the Toll Roads Act because the alternative route was not in the same area where the toll road was.
They had applied for an order quashing the designation of the Toll Roads (Designation of Highway 2000 Phase 1) Order 2000 and a declaration that the Mandela Highway which is designated as the alternative route , was not a lawful route but they were not successful.
SIX WEEKS TO FILE APPEAL
Attorney-at-law Candis Hamilton, one of the lawyers who appeared with Lord Anthony Gifford, Q.C., for the claimants, told The Gleaner yesterday that the judge had promised that her written judgment would be ready today. She said the claimants had six weeks in which to file an appeal and, therefore, the first step would be to review the judgment.
The residents said that it was only in March this year that they were aware that Mandela Highway was going to be the alternative route and that was the reason for the delay in bringing the claim.
The judge, in interpreting the Toll Roads Act and the claimants contention that the alternative route must be in the same area as the toll road, said each occasion must be looked at within all the circumstances by the minister in designating an alternative route. The judge said it was the court's considered view that the minister chose the most reasonable route. "The Portmore Causeway and the Mandela Highway are accepted as being in the same area for the purposes of the order and by extension the Toll Roads Act," the judge held.
The judge, in handing down her decision, upheld legal arguments by Michael Hylton, Q.C., Solicitor General, Patrick Foster, Deputy Solicitor General, Candace Rochester and Analiesa Lindsay that the minister did not act unlawfully in designating the toll road because there was an alternative route in the same area which was accessible to vehicular and other traffic as required under the Toll Roads Act."
The judge found that there was no unlawful action in the designation of the alternative route.
T K Whyte, Observer staff reporter Thursday, July 21, 2005
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The new six-lane bridge under construction (at right) beside the existing two-lane Portmore causeway bridge. The court will rule next Tuesday in the lawsuit brought by Portmore residents, who are seeking to have the existing bridge remain when the Kingston/Portmore leg of Highway 2000, a toll road, is completed. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) |
THE Judicial Review Court yesterday reserved judgment in the case brought against the government by the Portmore Citizens Advisory Council (PCAC), which wants the order designating the causeway a toll road quashed.
Following the completion of submissions yesterday by director of state proceedings Michael Hylton in the two-day hearing, Justice Gloria Williams reserved judgment until next Tuesday, July 26.
The PCAC contended in their affidavit that it is unlawful for the minister of transport to designate the Portmore causeway a toll road without providing a 'proper alternative route', pointing out that under the law the Mandela Highway was not a proper alternative route.
Hylton, who asked the court to throw out the PCAC's case, submitted that it would involve constructing a road through swamp lands and maintaining two bridges should the alternative route be changed now.
He said the two-lane causeway bridge must be demolished as it provides increase sedimentation in the area which could result in greater flooding on Mandela Highway and surrounding areas.
In addition, he argued that constructing a road parallel to the existing causeway road would be environmentally disastrous and would not be technically viable. The new road, he told the court, will be six feet higher than the present road.
Hylton told the court that up to March government had spent US$62 million on infrastructure on this part of the road, and that US$2.8 million had been spent on the Dyke road which is an alternative route to get onto the Mandela Highway. He said such expenditure must not be allowed to go to waste and a change of the road would do just that.
".I submit that there is no basis for declaring that the minister has acted wrongly or for the court to grant an order to quash his decision. Therefore, I submit that this claim should be dismissed," Hylton told the court.
But leading defence counsel Lord Anthony Gifford did not accept Hylton's argument that Mandela Highway was the only alternative route.
He argued that traffic coming from Port Henderson Road could use the causeway bridge without paying, by using a separate lane passing the toll plaza, and submitted that that would be a lawful alternative.
He asked the court to quash the order of the ministry and prevent it from proceeding with the establishment of a toll road. TOP
Lord Anthony Gifford, the lead attorney for the Portmore residents, told the court that it was unlawful for the minister to designate the Portmore Causeway a toll road, without providing a proper alternative route.
He asked the court to quash the order of the ministry and prevent it from proceeding with the establishment of a toll road.
"The alternative route is clearly not in the area in which the toll road is to be established and the court should grant a release and prohibition order," Gifford said in his submission yesterday.
Gifford argued that there was no indication in the original plans that would require Portmore residents to pay toll to and from Kingston, pointing out that all that was said was that Highway 2000 would facilitate the growth and economy of Kingston and provide other benefits not specifically related to Portmore.
He submitted that at a meeting with the developers in March 2004, they did not indicate that residents would pay a proposed toll fee of $65 and that at none of the meetings was it mentioned that plans were passed for the toll road.
The Portmore/Kingston leg of Highway 2000 is
now under construction, and is scheduled to be completed next March.
When completed, the two-lane bridge over the causeway is to be demolished and
replaced with a six-lane bridge, for which motorists will be required to pay a
toll.
TOP
continue
to generously support the Legal Fees Fund-raising drive. To date we
have collected $611,434.76, exceeding our first target of $582,500.
Legal fees of $400,000 have already been paid to our attorneys, Gifford, Thompson & Bright. The amount payable for the first leg of the action is $582,500 ($500,000 plus tax). Please note that the collections team still has a lot of work to do to secured the need funds for the next stage of the lawsuit. Thanks to all those who took time out of their busy schedule and family time to make the Saturday drive a success. There were a couple new faces. We were happy to have you. For those who did not make it this time there are going to be many more Saturdays TOP
_____________________________________________________________
June 17, 2005 - Court date set...
The legal action brought against the Government of Jamaica by the residents of Portmore throught the Portmore Joint Citizens' Association (Portmore Joint) and the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Committee (PCAC) comes up for trial in the Supreme Court of Jamaica (King Street, Kingston) on July 19 & 20, 2005.
Court proceedings begin at 10:00 a.m. and are open to the general public.
All persons who have an interest in the outcome of the trial are invited to make proper arrangement from now so that they are able to attend at least one of the sittings of the Court. TOP
May 20, 2005
- Toll road dispute for court August 8
published: Friday | May 20,
2005
THE URGENCY of the claim brought by the five Portmore residents who are challenging the toll in the Portmore section of Highway 2000 has resulted in the matter being set for hearing on August 8, during the legal vacation.
A Full Court is to hear the claim in which the residents are seeking several declarations.
When the matter came before Justice Mahadev Dukharan in chambers at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, attorney-at-law Oswald James was seeking an injunction to bar Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, from demolishing the Portmore Causeway.
Solicitor-General Michael Hylton, Q.C., and Deputy Solicitor-General, Patrick Foster, informed the judge that the new bridge would not be built before August 8, therefore, the existing structure would not be demolished before the matter is heard on August 8.
Following that disclosure, Mr. James withdrew the application for an injunction.
So far, there are two claims pending in the Supreme Court in relation to the Portmore leg of Highway 2000.
Last week, the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Council and the Portmore Joint Citizens' Association to apply to the Judicial Review Court for orders to quash the minister's order in so far as it relates to the Portmore section of Highway 2000.
UNLAWFUL
They are also seeking a declaration that the designation of the Mandela Highway as an alternative route is unlawful. They will be asking the court for an order prohibiting the minister from prescribing in respect to the Portmore section.
But, Mr. Pickersgill, in a statement, described the suits as "a bit premature". He emphasised that before a toll can be implemented, certain procedures must be followed. These include the receipt of an application from the concessionaires, the consideration of the application by the minister and the toll regulator, the advertising of a notice of intention to make a toll order and the gazetting of the actual toll order.
He said the Government realises the importance of having the cases disposed of as soon as possible and is, therefore, willing to cooperate with the applicants and the court.
The Portmore leg of Highway 2000 is scheduled to be opened in January 2006. TOP
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May 5, 2005
- Portmore citizens
get go-ahead - Court grants order for representative bodies to move against
Highway 2000
Jamaica Gleaner published:
Friday | May 6, 2005
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
THE SUPREME Court gave the go-ahead today for the Portmore Citizens Advisory Council and the Portmore Joint Citizens Association to apply to the Judicial Review Court for orders to quash an order from the Minister of Transport, regarding the Port-more section of Highway 2000.
They are also seeking a declaration that the designation of the Mandela Highway as an alternative route is unlawful. The groups will be asking the court for an order prohibiting the Minister of Transport and Works from making a toll in respect to the Portmore section.
Mr. Justice Lloyd Hibbert granted leave after hearing an application made by Lord Anthony Gifford, Q.C., who is representing the claimants.
However, before the application was granted, Michael Hylton, Q.C., Solicitor General, and Patrick Foster, Deputy Solicitor General, told the judge that although the Government was not consenting to the application, it was not objecting. They said that the Government felt there was no merit in the case but wanted all the substantive issues in the case ventilated at a full hearing. It is expected that the hearing will take place in July.
SECOND SUIT FILED
This is the second suit filed against the government this year challenging the Portmore leg of Highway 2000.
In March, attorney-at-law Oswald James filed the first suit on behalf of five Portmore residents, including Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Councillors Natalie Campbell-Rodriques, Andrew Wheatley and Keith Blake, seeking several declarations. Mr. James told The Gleaner yesterday that he was now in the process of filing affidavits so that a date can be set for a hearing.
The claimants in both suits are contending that the designation of the Mandela Highway as an alternative route is unlawful and are seeking orders to prohibit the demolition of the causeway.
They are also contending that under the Toll Road Act, there must be an alternative route in the area in which the toll road is to be established. They are claiming that the alternative route is in a different area, and is more than twice as long in distance TOP
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over 300 residents attended the meeting to hear what Lord Anthony Gifford, QC had to say about the legal action to be taken against the Government of Jamaica re the pending toll to be imposed on the community. Lord Gifford in his address made the following pronouncements:
The Minister of Transport & Works has already designated The Causeway as a toll road under the Toll Roads Act. This was done by the Toll Roads (Designation of Highway 2000 Phase 1) Order 2002 on 12th March 2002. Section 8(1) of the Toll Roads Act confers wide powers on the Minister of Transport to designate any road as a toll road. The wide power to designate a road as a toll road is subject to an important condition under section 8(2) of the Act: “No road shall be designated as a toll road under subsection (1)(a) unless in the area in which the toll road is to be established there is an alternative route accessible to the public by vehicular or other traffic”
The provision of the toll road is mandatory under the Act and if the Minister were to designate a toll road without there being an alternative route it would be ultra vires and could be quashed by the Supreme Court. Lord Gifford questioned whether the government’s designated alternative route, Mandela Highway, was in the area in which the toll road is to be established and concluded that it was NOT because if a circle was plotted using the beginning and end of the Portmore toll road as opposite points no part of the government’s ‘alternative route’ (Mandela) would fall within the circle.
Lord Gifford concluded that the route via the Mandela Highway was not an alternative route within the meaning of section 8(2) of the Act, since it is not in the area in which the toll road is to be established. He was also of the opinion that in designating a toll road without providing for a lawful alternative, the Minister acted unlawfully. TOP
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March 10, 2005 - PM orders full report on Portmore toll row (Observer March 11, 05)
Prime Minister Patterson, his Government soaking up increasing flak over the Portmore leg of Highway 2000, last night instructed a team of technocrats to complete a detailed study of the issues relating to the planned toll road, and reiterated his commitment to discussing the matter with Portmore residents.
"The Government has a responsibility to consider the legitimate concerns of the residents," Patterson said in a news release from Jamaica House reporting on yesterday's meeting, called by him to review an interim report he had requested of the team in January.
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| PATTERSON... issued order after getting status report on plans |
The team consists of officials from the National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC), TansJamaican Highway Limited and Bouygues, the French firm that is building Highway 2000.
Patterson said the study, to be presented within the next four weeks, should include a review of traffic studies conducted by TransJamaican Highway Ltd, issues relating to the provision and upgrading of the alternative route via Mandela Highway and what direct benefits could accrue to the Portmore municipality and its residents upon completion of the toll road.
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| LEE. I do not support the call to seek an injunction |
"The team will also continue to examine the possibility of a special toll rate for Portmore residents and the impact this would have on increasing usage of the roadway," Jamaica House said.
In 2000, Bouygues won the 35-year concession to build, own and operate the first phase of Highway 2000 - a nearly US$400 million project comprising a 74-kilometre motorway between Kingston and Williamsfield in Manchester, and a new bridge over Kingston Harbour, linking the community of Portmore with Kingston.
Two other phases of the highway, Bushy Park to Ocho Rios and Williamsfield to Montego Bay, an additional 152 kilometers, are also planned.
Portmore residents have flatly rejected the Government's plan to convert to a six-lane tolled highway the existing causeway which most Portmore residents use daily to get to work in the capital.
They have also spurned the Administration's suggestion that the Mandela Highway will serve as an alternative to residents who do not wish to pay the toll, arguing that it is already congested during peak hours.
The residents, who say they are not opposed to the highway going through their city, want the causeway to be left as an alternative and have vowed to take their complaint, if necessary, to the United Kingdom-based Priviy Council, Jamaica's final appeal court.
The controversy has provided a political opportunity for the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which, it emerged Wednesday night, intends to file an injunction in the Supreme Court next Monday to prevent the Government from converting the causeway into a toll road.
The party's position was
revealed by Councillor Natalie Campbell-Rodriquez (Westchester Division) at the
monthly meeting of the Portmore Municipal Council.
Chairman of the council Mayor George Lee said that while he supported the
residents' suggestion that the causeway should be left as an alternative, he
could not back the planned court action.
"I do not support the call to seek an injunction to stop the construction of the highway that some people are advancing," Mayor Lee told the meeting. "We should look at all the options because people in Portmore say they want the toll road. We may not succeed in keeping the causeway, but let's put everything on the table and negotiate... I say the issue of the toll should not be politicised. Let us negotiate, because people of Portmore have a history of fighting resolutely for what they want."
At Wednesday night's meeting, councillors voted six to five along strict party lines, after a heated debate, to pass a resolution fully supporting the construction of the Portmore leg of the highway.
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March 2, 2005 - Meeting at Heart Academy with Minister Robert Pickersgill
The long awaited meeting with the residents of Portmore and Hon. Robert Pickersgill was held on March 2, 2005 at the Portmore Heart Academy. The meeting started with the delegates being welcomed and the meeting addressed by Mr. Joseph Dalrympel, spokes man for the Portmore Joint Citizen Association. In his address he encouraged the Minister to address some key issues. The minister upon taking the podium expressed his love for the people of Portmore and indicated that all will be happy when he leave that evening. However after he started he proceeded to tell of the vast expenditure by the developers to reach this far and the additional amount to be spent.
After continuing in this vein without showing any intention of addressing the concerns of the residents, the residents became vocal and insisted that the minister stop skirting the issue. They demanded answers, of which the minister had none. The minister at one point got very irritate at one gentleman and insulted him by asking 'is it that time of the month"? That comment infuriated the the already charged audience who blasted the minister for his careless remark and lack of respect for the citizens. The minister in one comment insisted that Mandela Highway can be used as an 'alternative' route to and from Portmore, this the citizen flatly rejected. At the end of the meeting, the minister offered no solutions and only promised to have continued dialogue with the community. TOP
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Protest at the Minister Pickersgill's Office
January 30, 2005 - News Headlines
Jamaica Observer 'Portmore residents take to the Street"
BY ANN-MARGARET LIM Observer staff reporter
Sunday, January 30, 2005
"More than 100 placard-bearing Portmore residents thronged the intersection
of Port Henderson Road and the causeway yesterday morning and peacefully made it
clear that they felt it was unfair for them to be charged a toll to travel to
and from Kingston."
The protest was just the latest in an ongoing squabble between the residents of the dormitory community and the state, over a section of the Highway 2000 toll road being built. Portmore citizens have steadily insisted that they had been assured, when they bought their homes, that the causeway was the route into Kingston. However, that bridge is to be demolished and transformed into a six-lane toll highway as part of the Highway 2000 project.
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| Placard-bearing Portmore residents protesting against the proposed toll road from their community into Kingston, yesterday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) |
"More than 500 placard-bearing Portmore residents thronged the intersection of Port Henderson Road and the causeway yesterday morning and peacefully made it clear that they felt it was unfair for them to be charged a toll to travel to and from Kingston"
The Sunder Gleaner
'They
are liars!' - Pickersgill denies claim that Portmore protesters were threatened
published: Sunday | January
30, 2005
Joseph Dalrymple (centre), one of the organiser's, along with other residents of
Portmore, stage a peaceful demonstration yesterday morning on the Causeway to
oppose the toll set by government. At right, Pickersgill.
ROBERT PICKERSGILL, minister of transport and works, flatly denied allegations that government employees on the executive body the Portmore Joint Citizens' Association were threatened that they could lose their jobs if they went ahead with protest action over the toll road yesterday.
"Anybody who said that in relation to me, they would be liars!" said Minister Pickersgill in an interview with The Sunday Gleaner. "I have threatened no one, and if anybody in my ministry did any such thing, they have no authority to do so as it is not a part of government policy." TOP
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January 29, 2005 - Protest - PORTMORE STAGE PROTEST in the community. This was a very peaceful protest and passers by honk their horns in support. The following week, a similar protest was staged with greater support from the community and the Media.
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