Slippery candle-waxed pavement

THE EDITOR: I do not mean to hurt the people who held vigils on the pavement of Chacon Street as I know they are going through a great deal following the deaths of their loved ones. I also do not want or mean to impugn the commercial bank located there.

But, if I may, there has been a substantial accumulation of candle wax on the sidewalk which has been left uncleared from the candles lit during these vigils.

This is a high pedestrian traffic area, there being a taxi stand nearby and several businesses in that general area. We are also experiencing severe inclement weather. So you are having rainwater run off and a glazed pavement. Have you ever picked up a good old fashioned skid...then a solid fall on your back?

The problem here is that the sidewalk pavement has become highly dangerous since it is very slippery all the way from Chacon Street to the entrance of the bank. There is also a raised pavement...so anyone slipping there is going to go sliding for some distance.

Can someone, either from the bank or the Port of Spain City Corporation look into this matter urgently, before someone falls and decides to sue?

The city corporation can be blamed because they are in charge of pavements. People should be made to clean up when they are through. The Bank too, since these things are present in the access area to their business place.

Only recently, I read a judgement where a woman was awarded quite a tidy sum of money after she fell due to some liquids on the floor. The High Court judge held that her employer – a commercial bank – had a responsibility to ensure the area was regularly checked, to ensure that anything that fell there was immediately picked up.

Is the city corporation waiting for someone to fall and injure themselves and then present a lawsuit?

I also take the opportunity to remind them that the vaulting manhole cover at the intersection of Independence Square and Treasury Building remains still to be dealt with. Just waiting for someone to get in an accident and sue.

LINDA CAPILDEO

St James