As a resident of Cornwall Court Housing Scheme I am definitely not proud of my community. Before you hasten to chastise me let me explain. I have been living in the community for almost 10 years and for some strange reason I cannot recall a decent road leading from the tourist capital to this community which is now filled with industrious Jamaican citizens.

The strange thing about Cornwall Court though, is that there are at least three roads leading into the housing development: Porto Bello, Farm Heights and Salt Spring /Green Pond Roads. The interesting fact is that no matter which path we take we are greeted by huge craters, simply because all the roads are in the same horrendous condition.

It does not matter which way we go, the holes are there waiting patiently to wreck the front ends of trucks, vans, cars, bicycle, donkey just about anything that traverses the region.

I wonder everyday if the National Housing Trust is cognizant of what its’ beneficiaries are going through on a daily basis. I love my street; I enjoy my neighbours however the condition of the roads leading to the scheme are a total turnoff. The residents are so” industrious” that they don’t even have time to protest about the condition of the roads and so are suffering silently. The National Housing Trust may have built the houses but they have not ensured that beneficiaries have proper access to their residences and so they too must be held accountable.

Even though the city is just 10 minutes away (on a good road surface) no one (except taxi drivers who also complain) wants to make two trips for any reason no matter how urgent the need. I am not proud of where I live because I cannot invite friends and family who reside elsewhere to visit me … once they come they know and never return. The road is just too bad.

I also must mention the Catherine Hall Primary School road. This road goes through the Westgreen Housing Scheme to the Catherine Hall Primary which my daughter attends. When I purchased my car I thought that my daughter would get the comfort of being picked up and dropped off at school. This cannot be done as I have to “park and walk” about a 1/4 of a mile from the school, just so I don’t have to visit the car repairman every day. I am so sorry for the residents of the area; taxis have even refused to drive on the road. Every one is parking and walking in a time when it is not even safe to do so.

I know the songwriter says “…change is a long time coming” however I wish change could come now to the roads of Montego Bay.

Constance Reeves-Bogle lectures at the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College