Community Focus: Wakefield residents feel abandoned

Residents of Wakefield, Trelawny, are lamenting the deplorable condition of the roads leading into their community and are appealing to authorities to address the situation immediately.

The two main roadways leading to the community - Falmouth to Wakefield and Dumfries to Wakefield - are riddled with potholes, and residents say the continuous use of marl as a temporary fix is a failed experiment.

"The roads have been like this for more than eight years and getting worse," shop operator Suzan Williams told WESTERN STAR. "If somebody pregnant or if there is an emergency for someone to go to the hospital, then them a go dead before them reach Falmouth."

"The 15-minute journey to Falmouth is lasting closer to one hour," she added.

Another resident, Winston Howell, claims that the road from Dumfries is in an even worse condition. "People don't drive there ... . Sometimes I wonder if they are waiting until somebody die before they do something about the road.

"I was driving there at one time with my brother and we literally had to come out of the car for him to go over the craters on the road, before we board back the car," he added.

Business operators say that the failure to address the deteriorating road infrastructure has crippled productivity and slowed returns.

"We no longer have people coming from neighbouring districts like Granville. They prefer to go Falmouth side even though it is closer here, but the road condition is bad," said Natasha White, a business operator.

"With the hurricane season to start soon, the community has the potential to be blocked off and isolated. Two days ago, the rain fall and there was literally ponds in the road. Only trucks could a pass; and that is the main road.

"There is no drainage system for the water to run off. Sometimes I can't even go to my house, I have to stay here until the water runs off," she added.