KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Jamaica Constabulary Force is advising the public of traffic changes for the annual Fireworks Festival on the Waterfront in downtown Kingston, which will be hosted by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) on Tuesday, December 31.

The police said that at 4:00pm on Tuesday, the following intersections including Port Royal Street will be closed:

–          Church Street

–          King Street (partially closed to accommodate ROK Hotel)

–          Peter’s Lane

–          Orange Street

–          Princess Street

–          West Street

–          Ocean Boulevard and

–          Pechon Street

Two-way traffic will be permitted as follows to facilitate entrance and exit to and from parking areas only, from the:

–          The intersection of Church Street and Port Royal Street to JCC Multi-storey Car Park

–          The intersection of Orange Street and Port Royal Street to Orange Street Multi-storey Car Park

–          The intersection of Princess Street and Port Royal Street to the Digicel Car Park

–          The intersection of West Street and Port Royal Street to the West Street Car Park

Vehicles will be allowed to turn from both King Street and Church Street to access Temple Lane Multi-Storey Car park, the police further advised.

As for parking arrangement, the UDC will be enacting a Park and Ride system where transportation will be provided to and from the venue. Patrons can park at Heroes Circle and be transported by shuttle bus to the Bank of Nova Scotia (at the intersection of Duke and Port Royal Street).

Individuals are being advised to park in the established areas as vehicles found outside these areas creating obstruction will be towed.

Paid parking options will be available at the locations listed below:

–          Harbour Street Car Park (Entrance on Princess Street)

–          Bank of Nova Scotia Large Car Parks (Entrance on Port Royal Street)

–          Temple Lane/Supreme Court multi-story car park

–          Fisheries Car Park (Entrance on Port Royal Street)

–          Jamaica Customs

–          Transportation Centre (No entry from Water Lane)

–          Craft Market Car Park (Entrance on Port Royal Street), and

–          West Street Car Park

The police is also aware that during the staging of the annual Fireworks Festival on the Waterfront hundreds of people usually converge along the Palisadoes main road to view the fireworks, which often leads to traffic congestion and disruption to the traffic flow along that corridor.

In order to mitigate against this risk, the police said they will implement the following measures:

–          No parking will be allowed along the right side of the Norman Manley Highway leading to the airport (from the Harbour View Roundabout to the Airport Roundabout) between the hours of 5:00 pm and midnight.

–          Controlled parking will be at designated locations on the left side only.

–          No vending will be allowed along the strip.

The police further warned that there will be strict enforcement of the Road Traffic Act.

Motorists are being asked to comply with the instructions of the police.