Elderly battle bad road
"If they are in the road, they could get hit by a car, but if they walk on the pavement, they could fall and hurt themselves"
The elderly residents at Juana Maria Old Age Home have to battle the ‘horrific’ pavement at the side of Francis Road on a daily basis. There are huge potholes along the pavement and right outside the home is a large hole where water works are being done.
The elderly are suffering as a result of this state of affairs. Some use ‘walkers’ to get around, and they are opting to walk on the road rather than battle the potholes and bumps in the pavement. Most of the senior citizens use the pavement to walk between the home and Spar to do their shopping. Many do not drive and some do not have family who can do their grocery shopping for them.
Di Williams from the home commented that, “It’s just horrendous! The pavement is in a terrible state and our residents are really battling. Many are walking in the road so as to avoid the difficult bumps and holes. If they are in the road, they could get hit by a car, but if they walk on the pavement, they could fall and hurt themselves. Older people are a lot more fragile and they could seriously injure themselves; they could even break a bone.”
The large hole in the pavement where water works are currently underway has not been worked on in over a week and there is rubble lying in a large pile under a tree.
Di Williams added that she has contacted the municipality to try and get the pavement fixed, but has not yet had a meeting with them. At the time of going to press, the municipality had failed to comment.
