Sidewalks – The New Bend Dung Plaza

Below is an article I penned to the Gleaner’s editor, it was published as Letter of the Day in today’s paper. I’ll not add or subtract anything but will leave as was published. If you’re a sidewalk vendor, its not my intention to ‘box bread out of your mouth’ but the practice of sidewalk vending isn’t just illegal but is unsafe for pedestrians. Here are my plain thoughts….

LETTER OF THE DAY: Sidewalks – The new bend dung plaza

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I use this medium to express how upset I am that the major sidewalks in Mandeville have been transformed into what Jamaicans term bend dung plazas.

Clothes, shoes, jewellery, among other things, have now decorated the sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to walk into oncoming traffic. Weren’t sidewalks created solely for the safety of pedestrians?

While going about my business last week, I narrowly escaped the wrath of a roadside vendors tongue when I almost stepped on her wares on the sidewalk nearby Cecil Charlton Park. Luckily, I had seen the items beforehand or else it would have been a chaotic scene between myself and her.

Mandeville is already a congested town, so the added feature of sidewalk stores is only adding to the congestion. It is time for the authorities to take control of this nuisance which has invaded the town, as the safety of residents is being jeopardised.

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