Dear Editor,

The Irwindale Citizens’ Association in St James wishes to have a meeting with members of the relevant authority at the Irwindale community Centre on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 10.30 am to deal with several pressing issues.

At an emergency meeting on October 24, we drew attention to the fact that on several occasions we applied to the St James Parish Council for assistance to repair the Irwindale road and we were informed that it was private and no help would be forthcoming.

Because of the terrrible state of the Montego-Bay-Adelphi main road in the vicinity of the second entrance to Porto-Bello, all vehicular traffic has been diverted through the Irwindale community. This road was not built to accommodate the current heavy volume of traffic. We are deeply concerned that no prior repairs were done to the already badly damaged road. Other concerns are the unbearable noise level 24 hours a day from the traffic; dust; speeding; congestion; the safety of our children and pedestrians as there is no pavement, and the road is narrow; the majority of the members of the community are elderly and retired and some are ill. We also have great difficulty entering and leaving our homes.

We feel we have not got the respect we deserve because someone from the relevant authorities should have informed us that our road would have been turned into a highway. We also need to know how long this invasion of our community is planned to last.

Elise Spence

Vice President

Irwindale Citizens’ Association

St James