It’s just too much now for the residents of Richmond Park. Creeping commercialisation in this once exclusively residential St Andrew neighbourhood and inertia by the authorities have angered them to the point of contemplating mounting a demonstration at the offices of the city’s local government – the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC).

The nagging problem, the residents complain, has also transformed their once peaceful community into a busy traffic zone and worse, a haven for criminals and

drug dealers.

“Because nobody is living around certain areas to see the criminals they feel they can do as they like,” one resident told the Sunday Observer during a visit to the community just over a week ago. She said that two Sundays ago someone walking on the road was held up and robbed, just one night after a similar incident occurred.

She also pointed to the number of streetside stalls set up in the community which, she said, are used as cover for peddling drugs. “The drugs thing is big in Richmond Park, and the police not paying any attention to it because they all too busy in New Kingston,” said the resident who, like her neighbours, opted not to be named.

Some residents, frustrated at the transformation of the community, have sold their homes to persons who continue to commercialise the area.

A Statistical Institute of Jamaica census done in 2001 showed that there were 46 enterprises interspersed among the 738 dwellings in Richmond Park.

The Sunday Observer saw signs on buildings in the community advertising auto parts, liquor and hardware stores, as well as a medical centre.

The irony of the situation, the residents say, is that the operators of these establishments retreat to the comfort of their quiet homes after business hours.

And the nights, for some residents, bring another concern – the absence of neighbours who could, in the event of an emergency, give a helping hand.

“A lot of us no longer have neighbours in case something is happening in the night,” moaned one elderly resident. “We can’t live like this because when a lot of us moved here in the ’70s we planned on living here for the rest of our lives.”

She, and others, have thought of moving, but the high cost of real estate in the city is prohibitive.

The residents say they are angered by the parish council’s failure to enforce the zoning law, and are now prepared to demonstrate their frustration.

Two Sundays ago, the Citizens’ Association met and agreed to press the KSAC to immediately address the problems.

President of the association, Preston Tabois, showed the Sunday Observer several letters which, he said, were sent to both the mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, and Thelma Levy, the KSAC’s director of planning, highlighting the situation in the community. But to date, the residents say, nothing has been done.

One letter dated January 13, 2006 and signed by Camille Prince, personal assistant to the mayor, responding to the residents’ query about the purpose of construction at 4 Westlake Avenue, said, “An application is in the system for the erection of a four-bedroom dwelling. However, the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) did not grant an approval for the construction of any building. The building inspector, Mr Osbert Grey, was instructed to investigate and take the necessary action”.

But the residents said that although the building is almost completed, they are yet to receive the results of that investigation.

In another letter dated May 10, 2006 and addressed to Tabois, Levy pointed out that it was not clear what would be the intended purpose of the buildings under construction at 19 Westlake Avenue and 40 Truman Avenue, and that the city engineer would be asked to investigate the construction activities and take the relevant action.

The letter also verified that commercial activities were taking place at 6 Aldington Avenue and that the KSAC would “commence enforcement process”. But to date, the residents say they are yet to receive any indication that anything is being done.

The Sunday Observer tried repeatedly, without success, last week to get comments from Mayor McKenzie and Levy.

Meanwhile, the residents say they have had to sit by and watch their community taken over, inch by inch, by commercial interests.

One resident complained that a house on Montgomery Avenue had been rented out to persons who now operate a garage and a warehouse there. “When the garbage truck comes on the avenue, they have to go away sometimes and leave the garbage because of how the cars coming to the garage spill out into the roadway,” the resident said.

She also pointed to a huge trailer which, she said, oftentimes blocked residents’ gates, forcing them to wait outside until workmen were through unloading it before they can drive into their yards.

“We are going down to the KSAC to protest because we see the mayor targeting other people and him not doing anything for this area,” one resident said.

When the Sunday Observer visited the community, several cars and a truck were seen in the yard, while others were parked on the outside.

The residents also pointed to what was once a family dwelling which has been transformed into a mini complex comprising a school, restaurant and a real estate agency.

Another concern raised by the residents was the high volume of vehicular traffic which travels through the neighbourhood, sometimes at high speeds.

“Every week there is an accident at my gate,” one elderly resident told the Sunday Observer. “One wall at the corner of Westlake and Richmond Park avenues has been knocked down six different times.”

Said another resident: “If you see how some of the vehicles drive through here, especially the route taxis, sometimes they even mount the sidewalks, leaving no place for us to walk.”

The situation, she said, had grown worse following the implementation of a one-way system along a section of Maxfield Avenue.

“It is a disgrace to see how they use here for a race track, and I am just so fed up with it because since the one-way system came into effect about six years ago, things have just gotten worse,” said another resident. “You know how much time them out to lick me down at mi own gate.”

The residents showed the Sunday Observer a copy of a letter dated October 25, 2006 which they said they sent to the National Works Agency (NWA) requesting a meeting with the chief executive officer to discuss the traffic situation in Richmond Park.

“We would like to discuss some problems that are affecting the community which we think your department can help to address,” said the letter. “Some of the concerns are road condition, traffic congestion and the possibility of constructing some mounds at some strategic locations.”

They are yet to receive a response,

they said.

But Stephen Shaw, communications manager at the NWA, told the Sunday Observer that he had no knowledge of the agency receiving the letter and suggested that the residents could have visited

in person.

Sidewalks are another burning issue for the residents. “There is an absence of sidewalks on many of our roads, and where they are present, residents have to compete with the vehicles that utilise them as parking spots,” the residents told the Sunday Observer. This problem is even more prevalent where unauthorised garages are located, they said.

The citizens are also asking that the exit and entry to Maxfield Avenue from Montgomery Avenue be reopened in order to reduce the number of vehicles travelling through the community.

The noise and vibration from huge trucks and trailers, they added, also prevent them from sleeping at nights and are constant nuisances throughout the day.

“I can’t sleep at nights, and right now

me pressure is just going up,” said one

elderly resident.

This reporter got an example of their complaint as, during the interview, the noise from trucks that whizzed through the community made it impossible to hear what the persons sitting closest to me were saying.

“Now you know what we have to deal with,” said one resident.

To deal with that problem, the residents say they will be asking the relevant authorities to impose a weight restriction for the community to determine what types of vehicles will be allowed access.

“We want them to establish a weight zone so no big cement truck or trailer will be allowed to pass through here, because the noise and vibration are too much,” said

one resident.

browni@jamaicaobserver.com