Kenson Casimir, the Member of Parliament for Gros Islet, says that as the area develops, he is increasingly concerned about traffic and road safety.
“We have a situation where we need to kind of pause and see what we need to do. Reckless driving is of huge concern,” he said.
“In the Riviere Mitan area, some of the roads that we have developed there, I feel almost responsible for some of the road occurrences because in times past before I came in, the Riviere Mitan road into Desrameaux, into Morne Citon was a road that had a lot of potholes so individuals drove slowly.”
Now that the roads are repaired, the MP said people are asking for speed bumps in the communities because drivers are speeding in these areas.
“So we need to start a national discussion on road safety, because it cannot be an MP going and installing a set of speed bumps. We need to start having more programmes geared towards individuals understanding that they need to be more responsible drivers in our communities,” Casimir said.
He also referred to the road from Masade to Cap Estate, where business owners are also asking for speed bumps.
“Is the answer just installing speed bumps or do we need a more comprehensive way of dealing with irresponsible driving in our constituencies and our communities?” Casimir asked. “So for me it has to be a two-pronged approach, but I cannot now in good conscience just go and put speed bumps all over the constituency.”
The Gros Islet MP said that now that the traffic department at the new Gros Islet Police Divisional Headquarters is open, more interventions and better traffic management can be expected.
