"The City as a Market Place", a panoramic view of the city of Kingston and St. Andrew.

Journal Entry One

  I often walk the streets of Kingston with a clear idea of where I'm going and what I am going to do.  Most times its to run an errand or two, grab lunch, get a manicure or pedicure, buy groceries or just traversing through the city on my way to other parishes.  Truth is I live in the heart of it all.  When I'm asked where do I live; its easier to say Half-Way-Tree (HWT)  than to say Eastwood Park Gardens, because then I would have to explain where that is and the many ways which one can enter the community.  Similarly, one can enter HWT from various directions all of which take you into the heart, right by the clock.  But I will get back to that later.

I will admit that while I'm in the city I am captivated by the colourful nature of Jamaicans.  The city is my television, internet, magazine and any other source there is there to gather information and inspiration.  I am amused, bewildered, intoxicated, disappointed and angered all in one day by the city's life.  I tell people all the time that I do not need cable or television as the city offers a bellyful of laugh.  One such source is the drove of drivers on our roads.

Many Jamaicans can comment on the transport system and its administrators to a point of  no return and all will chime in on the hoggish drivers on our streets.  But before I get there, lets set the stage.  We have a vast number of road ways going in and out of the city all of which play a major role in commerce and the country's production rate.  These roads act as information free ways, delivery and bus routes, while functioning as a path of freedom or adventure filled with obstacles and booby traps much like those in an Indiana Jones movie.  The average city dweller has a mapped route that will take them from home to school/work in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of traffic (or so we think); so too those who travel in and out of the city.  However, the possibility of arriving late is always lurking in the just before the shadow; especially if one particular driver decides that he will change his route.

Had I been a gambler I would be a billionaire for every time I saw a taxi driver stop in the middle of the flowing traffic for a passenger to get off, or suddenly turn into or out of traffic without signalling.  I could put on my pot (as my granny would say) every time the traffic slowed down, that there was a police officer at the traffic sign directing traffic.  Because of fear of being ticketed most Jamaican drivers crawl below the speed limit to a point of stop upon seeing a police car or officer.  Which leaves one to question if that is not illegal?

Then there is the matter of if your car is road worthy?  Question is, are our roads car worthy?

Yearly Jamaicans pay insurance, license and registration fees in order to ensure that they comply with the country's laws and provide the government with resources to maintain these roadways. But who ensures that they are maintaining the road. What if we were to audit the administrators who were responsible for maintaining the road ways?  Could we charge them or impound their vehicles if they were not complying; more like since they are not complying can we charge them?

The state of our roadways leaves a lot to be required and may possibly be the reasoning behind our drivers' hoggish behaviour, it is also a factor to consider when the government is looking to improve GDP or make  changes that will sharpen our image in the eyes of the beholder (World Bank & IMF).