THE GOVERNMENT HAS no say over how much Portmore residents will be charged as toll when the Portmore leg of the Highway 200 is completed and opened.
But in the next six weeks Portmore residents will have a say about how much toll they are willing to pay when the new bridge to replace the existing causeway opens later this year.
Portmore Mayor George Lee said on Thursday that a date for a hearing on how much toll residents are willing to pay when the bridge opens will be advertised in the press by the toll regulator.
"We are encouraging the people of Portmore to go out and voice their opinion on the amount of toll to be charged when the hearing is called by the toll regulator. The date will be advertised six weeks from now," said Mayor Lee.
Mayor Lee said this hearing was one of the outcomes of the meeting with representatives of the municipality and the Prime Minister last Friday. The meeting came about after residents expressed concerns about the amount of money that would be charged when the toll road opened. Late last year, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson had announced that he would be meeting with residents about the matter.
Although fulfilling his promise of meeting with the residents, Mayor Lee said the Prime Minister disclosed that he had no control on the amount of toll that would be charged. Instead, he announced that it was the responsibility of the toll regulator.
Mayor Lee, however, pointed out that US$12 million(J$780 million) was allotted for the upgrading the Mandela Highway, Marcus Garvey Drive, Port Henderson Road and Passagefort Drive.
"The main thing discussed was the upgrading of the roads in the area. The design for the Mandela work has started already," said Mayor Lee.
Mayor Lee said another meeting would take place one month from now to see that the plans were going ahead as schedule. The meeting will be chaired by Minister of Transport Robert Pickersgill.
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