CIRCUMSTANCES, and money, are forcing government to choose what infrastructure it can provide for Jamaicans, and though areas designated for pedestrians are unsafe and unkempt, sidewalk repair is not on its ‘to do’ list.

“That is not a priority right now,” said Robert Pickersgill, whose super ministry handles roads, water, housing and transport.

“The immediate priority is a drain cleaning and drain expansion programme to be undertaken islandwide to mitigate against flood damage in the hurricane season.”

His comment Friday echoed a position stated by Stephen Shaw, spokesman for the National Works Agency (NWA), which builds and regulates major roads.

The NWA acknowledges that there are widespread breaches in sidewalk standards and a general disregard for the rule on how close to the road a building should be constructed, saying it is often an issue of available land space.

Sidewalks, according to an officer in the NWA, should be eight feet wide, but no less than five feet.

The breaches have forced pedestrians to walk in the path of oncoming traffic, as residential and commercial interests flout the law with impunity.

According to the NWA the breaches occur when structures – both residential and commercial – are closer to the roadway than the 10-15 feet boundary fence stipulated by law.

“We have not done a detailed study of the number of buildings that are in breach, but we do know that it is widespread, in the corporate area,” the National Works Agency said, responding to questions from the Sunday Observer, sent by facsimile.

The responses from Shaw, the customer services and communications manager at the NWA, said the agency often encounters problems getting the required minimum space to construct sidewalks in built up areas.

Under the Town Planning Act, permits for commercial and residential developments are the responsibility of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), which must ensure adherence to building regulations before approving building plans.

However, the process is not done in isolation of state agencies, including the NWA, which are often required to stamp approval on various design aspects of developers plans.

A local planning source said often breaches are passed because of a failure by the agencies to coordinate.

Pickersgill, meantime, says he considers sidewalks an “important” issue, but cannot speak to it without advice from his technocrats at the NWA.

“I can’t tell you what is the policy and programme for those roads until I’ve met with the NWA to discuss the issue,” he said.

The NWA says it has not estimated what it would cost to upgrade sidewalks to the correct specifications.

“We have not put a cost to putting sidewalks on our roadways, which is just under 5,000 km.” said Shaw.

Sidewalks are virtually non-existent along sections of Old Hope Road, in the vicinity of Cross Roads, going north towards Oxford Road-Tom Redcam Avenue intersection.

But some areas of the capital sport decent walkways – for example, sections of Half Way Tree, Liguanea, New Kingston, and much of downtown Kingston.

The NWA said inconsistencies in sidewalk size is not the agency’s fault.

“There are some inconsistencies in the size of the sidewalks, but invariably the size of the sidewalks is dependent on the land space available for constructing them,” said Colin Morrison, NWA senior communications officer.

Examination of project proposals and plan specifications before construction would stop violations at the beginning of the approval process rather than at the end, after construction, Morrison said, adding that the five to eight feet specification for sidewalks was ‘compulsory’.

But even the agency has been breaching its own rules.

The desire to increase traffic flow by creating extra lanes have sometimes reduced the size of the sidewalks, the NWA acknowledges, saying in such cases it tries to retain 4-foot wide walkways.

virtuee@jamaicaobserver.com