La Romaine families appeal for help – Fix Short Street

Residents of Short Street off Pond Street, La Romaine are pleading with authorities to repair their road which is now a dirt track. They said when it's hot and dry, dust from the road invades their homes, covering everything and posing a health hazard especially children and pets. And when it rains, the road becomes a mass of mud and is virtually impassable to vehicles.

Then too, are the potholes which adds to the residents' stress. Residents in about 24 houses along Short Street are said to be directly affected.

"You could fall when you going to the shop. The children slipping and falling down. Even we the adults, we are tripping and falling too. It's really terrible," cried Hazel-Ann Cox, 45. She has lived in the are for the past 20 years.

In the dry season, she said, the mud turns to dust which covers everything and everyone in the houses which line the street. She said of the 40 children in the community, about five suffer with respiratory issues.

Mother of five Onika Waldron said her 11-year-old son suffers with his sinus and the dust agitates his condition.

"When the rain don't fall, the trucks and them come down and is a lot of dust when they drive down. Dust blowing and it affecting all of us especially the children."

The affected residents claimed that trucks loaded with construction material, which regularly traversed the road to get to and from recently built structures, are what caused the road to deteriorate to its present dilapidated condition.

La Romaine councillor Sheldon Lal said the Penal Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) is aware of the situation and has been trying to assist the residents. However, he said, the corporation was limited in what it could do as Short Street is deemed a private road.

"The road is not vested with us, but in the past, the corporation always tried to see about helping people to traverse to and from work and especially school. So we were doing maintenance work hoping we could do the drains soon."

He too said the developers who oversaw the construction of the structures are the ones who ought to repair the road.

He said that despite this, the corporation is collaborating with various state bodies to reach an amicable solution with the developers.

Questions sent to one of the developers by Newsday saw no response up to press time. However, Newsday was informed that this developer promised the affected residents that they will engage in some repair work soon.