Work being done to clean up the remains of the demolished building at 2 Maxfield Avenue.

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.

We are on a roll. The dangerous, decrepit building at 2 Maxfield Avenue has been demolished. The Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Council (KSAC) bulldozed the one-storey building on Monday. We raise our hat to the city engineer, Norman Shand, and the KSAC who addressed the issue after three weeks in this feature. Keep up the good work. We hope all future issues will be resolved with the same efficiency.

Eight months of traffic

The derelict building on Maxfield Avenue. - Norman Grindley photos

Speaking of efficiency, today marks the sixth week we are reporting on the broken traffic light at the intersection of Spanish Town Road and Industrial Terrace. Add these six weeks to the seven months the traffic light was out before we started featuring it and you get more than eight months of traffic congestion and accidents.

An officer at the Denham Town Police Station situated next to the broken traffic light told THE STAR that despite pleas to the Ministry of Works nothing has been done to repair the light, although promises are made with each call. When we contacted Stephen Shaw, communications and customer service manager at the National Works Agency (NWA), he said that they were aware of the problem. He said the real issue is the underground cables and wires, which have been extensively damaged but that the traffic department had plans to address the issue.

The latest from the NWA is that the parts have been ordered to fix the traffic light. "Whatever is needed to fix it is part of what has been ordered to signalise several intersections in the Corporate Area," Shaw said. He was unable, however, to say how soon these parts would be available. Let's hope they get here within the year.