This composite photo shows the back of the Helping Hands Foundation bus before and after the damage.
EBENEZER--A senior citizen in Ebenezer is speaking out in frustration after flying stones from sidewalk cleaning activities allegedly damaged vehicles in the neighbourhood, including her personal ride.
A bus belonging to her foundation that is used to transport the elderly on the island was also allegedly damaged when the bus was being driven past workers cleaning the sidewalk on Coralita Road.
Flanders’ windshield with a lone crack which she claims is a result of flying debris from street cleaning activities.
In an invited comment Minister of VROMI Patrice Gumbs stressed the need for clear evidence before attributing fault to contractors involved in street cleaning and indicated that in cases where there is evidence, persons can submit this to the Contract Managers at the Department of Infrastructure at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The distraught resident, philanthropist Patricia Flanders of the Home Away from Home Taking Care of the Elderly Foundation, told The Daily Herald that the damages are both worrying and frustrating. “The guys that are cleaning the [side walks –Ed.] and the street are mashing up people's wind shields, and you don’t even know it’s damaged until two days later,” the resident said.
She recounted one instance where the bus from the Home Away from Home Foundation was damaged, while traversing Coralita Road. She said it appears as though a flying brick or bricks from the side walk cleaning activities hit the back glass of the bus, which later spread around the glass. The damage and the extent of it was not noticed until after. “My bus windshield got mashed up in the back. When [the driver] was picking up the seniors, then they see the back glass mash up” she said.
She also described damage to her personal vehicle. She said her vehicle was parked in her yard in Ebenezer at the time of the incident. “When you look now, my car was parked in the yard, and the workers were cleaning the street in Ebenezer. They smashed my car glass.”
The woman explained that the wind shield did not show immediate signs of serious damage, but worsened with a line crack. “I went out to the car, came back, and the next day the [crack in the] glass had spread out. After it gets hit, it takes a while to spread,” she said.
After sharing her experience in a group chat, she learned that others in the community had experienced similar damage. “When I put it in the chat, someone else said their wind shield got mashed up too when they [the workers] were cleaning the street, the same people.”
She believes the flying debris from the cleaning process, especially loose bricks and rocks, is to blame. “It’s unnecessary damage to your wind shield, and they’re not saying anything, because the rocks are flying very high,” she said, adding that the specific area being cleaned near her yard did not need maintenance since it was “just rocks and stones.” “They didn’t need to clean at all,” she said.
Flanders is calling for more care during side walk and street maintenance to prevent further vehicle damage and looks forward to responsibility being taken to repair the vehicles.
She planned to raise the issue with the workers once they are back in her area to clean, as she was previously unaware whom specifically was responsible for street cleaning in the area.
The Daily Herald asked Minister Gumbs whether there are any procedures in place to address such incidents and what steps resident can take if their property is damaged as a result of flying debris from street cleaning. The paper also asked the minister to specify which contractor is responsible for street cleaning in the Ebenezer area. The Minister immediately responded to the queries indicating that it is important to determine responsibility before assigning blame. "I think what’s important is to first establish who is at fault, saying that this has happened due to the contractors is a reach if no evidence is brought forward. But if there is evidence, persons can submit to contract managers at the Department of Infrastructure," the minister said.
He made it clear that the contracts for district cleaning, garbage collection and trench cleaning all fall under the Department of Infrastructure.
