ROBERT Pickersgill, the water and transport minister, yesterday pleaded with residents of Portmore, St Catherine to show their gratitude to the People’s National Party by voting them into a fifth term in the August 27 polls.

The minister reminded residents of the sprawling municipality how they had benefited from good roads at the hands of the ruling PNP, as he highlighted the road rehabilitation works done in the municipality over the past few years, including the widening of Passagefort Drive, upgrading of Port Henderson Drive and the Portmore stretch of Highway 2000.

“You are in a class by yourselves,” Pickersgill said, commenting on the number of entrances into and exits from the community.

“It’s now time for gratitude,” Pickersgill told the group of mostly PNP supporters who turned out for yesterday’s commissioning of traffic lights at the intersection of PassageFort Drive and the Portmore and Waterford parkways.

“Be gracious and say to the rest of Jamaica that you are proud of what the PNP has done,” he added to loud cheers of ‘not changing no course’.

“Never before in the history of this country,” Pickersgill boasted, “have the people of Jamaica experienced this in terms of roads, and guess what? You haven’t seen nothing yet!”

The minister’s plea came amidst waning support in the municipality, especially from residents who were angered by the government’s handling of the toll for Portmore. Residents have been at odds with the government over the decision to convert the old Causeway bridge into a tolled motorway. The residents contend that they were being locked out of their community and refused to accept that the suggested alternative route – Mandela Highway – was adequate.

A group of Portmore residents, mainly councillors of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party, has since taken the government to court over the matter, claiming that the move was unlawful. The matter is now before the United Kingdom-based Privy Council and is to be heard in October.

Portmore residents said that repeated efforts to meet with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to address the toll issue fell through.

Apparently fed up, the All Hellshire Leadership Council, headed by Byron Buckley, told Portmore residents to make the toll dispute an issue on which to vote.

But even as the residents grew agitated over the handling of the toll issue, PNP general secretary Donald Buchanan said he was confident the party would retain the three Portmore seats because the community had been “served well by the PNP since 1989”.

In the meantime, Mayor of Portmore George Lee yesterday expressed pleasure that the traffic lights were commissioned.

“This is another improvement to our infrastructure; an important improvement that began when we started Highway 2000 and despite all the controversy, it has been very useful,” said Lee.

Greetings were brought by JLP councillor of the Independence City Division, Keith Blake.

The lights were installed at a cost of $3.1 million and will feature standard LED signals, fully activated turning lanes and pedestrian lights that will indicate “walk” only after the pedestrian push button is pressed. There are eight seconds of “walk” time and six of “don’t walk”. The pedestrian signals are expected to last between five and 10 years.