A section of Oakland Crescent in St. Andrew which needs urgent fixing. - Norman Grindley

AS A PART of our mission to be the People Paper, THE STAR has been highlighting problem areas across the island. Our reporter, Carolyn Johnson, along with photographer Norman Grindley, will focus on a particular area until the problem is fixed. Now we will have a rough idea of how long the relevant authorities take to deal with some of the problems affecting our country.

Let's take a trip into St. Andrew, to Oakland Crescent, off Waltham Park Road, constituency of the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller. Here, the road is lined with gorges. In fact, at places, there is no road, just rubble, for long stretches of the avenue. According to residents of the area, the road has been in this condition since Hurricane Ivan in 2004. They say whenever it rains, the road gets worse, especially because a gully, above the avenue on Waltham Park Road is blocked.

"De gully affi go fix. Each time de water come down it mash up de road," a female resident told THE WEEKEND STAR yesterday. "De people affi stop throw tings from up de so too. Fridge a come down, TV a come down, all dead dog. Wen water come down it block up (debris) and stink, an wen de place dry a we same one affi scrape dem up and burn dem."

Many complaints

An assistant pastor of a church along the avenue who contacted the paper said they have made many complaints about the state of the road. He said they were promised by someone at the councillor's office that the road would have been fixed in February. Still, the river bed remains. The councillor for the division is off the island and could not be reached for a comment.

But a representative from the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation said they were unaware of any current plans to fix the road, although they are aware of the situation. They also agree that it is the gully that is causing the problem. The representative said that there are plans to clean the drain and that they are currently procuring funds for this venture and other drains in the parish.

But keep heart, residents of Oakland Crescent, it's an election year and miracles happen when you least expect them.