PLP: Prince Charles Drive unsafe for students

Wed, Sep 7th 2011, 09:19 AM

Doris Johnson Senior High School students were forced to maneuver through a "gauntlet of road closures, unpaved roads, lack of directions, misinformation and blocked entrances" on Prince Charles Drive during the first days of school due to road construction, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) members said in a statement yesterday.
In a joint statement, the Member of Parliament for Fox Hill Fred Mitchell, the Member of Parliament for Elizabeth Ryan Pinder and PLP candidate for St. Anne's William Nottage argued that the journey to school is dangerous for those students.

"We express our concern about the state of readiness of the road in front of the school and the accessibility of the school during what appeared to us to be a heavy construction period," the PLPs said.
"We were particularly concerned that the children had to cross over and between a tractor which was busy at work on the road while the children were navigating their way to school.  This is a safety concern."
Mitchell, Pinder and Nottage insisted in their statement that the Free National Movement did not keep its promise to ensure that the road would be fixed by the beginning of the new school year.
"This is symptomatic of the mismanagement of this so-called road improvement program which has led to chaos on our roads, mass inconvenience to the public, threats to the safety of pedestrians and motorists alike, and economic disaster for merchants everywhere the program has been taking place," the PLPs said.
In the statement Mitchell also drew attention to Sandilands Primary School, which he said was not ready for the opening of the new school year.  He contended that construction debris was still on the campus, refuse still has to be collected along with debris from Hurricane Irene.
Mitchell also said there was need for proper security at Sandilands Primary School and for a pre-school to be constructed on its grounds.
"When Carl Bethel demitted office as minister of education he held a signing ceremony for the transfer of certain church held lands to the Sandilands school for the expansion of the school," he said.
"The formalities of that have still not been completed and the church is now threatening to take back the land if something is not done to bring the matter to a conclusion.  
"These matters are known to the minister of education and are unaddressed."

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