Reopening of Kara Kara toll booth still on the cards – Linden Mayor

…fees to be increased for out-of-town vehicles

While the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC) is anticipating the re-opening of the Kara Kara toll booth to secure much-needed revenue, Mayor Carwyn Holland believes that the process is a slow one.

During an interview on Friday, Holland told this publication that several things needed to be put in place at the site which would have to be properly prepared, and the necessary infrastructure put in place before the toll booth comes back into play.
The go-ahead, he said, has already been granted for this and work could now commence at the site. Apart from that, he said, a letter is expected to be sent to the relevant Minister; however, it cannot be forwarded without the Council’s seal. The Council’s logo, the Mayor informed this newspaper, has been changed and the letter has to feature the new seal. The Council, he said, is presently awaiting instructions from the Town Clerk, Jenella Bowen on acquiring a stamp so that the seal can be sent to Georgetown. He noted that there were some other things which had to be undertaken by the Town Clerk before moving forward.
“I believe indeed it is stymieing and holding up the works that we want to do, to get on with,” Holland stated.
The Mayor also sought to clear up the misconception of some residents that all vehicles traversing the route would be subjected to tolls.
“I believe, in the meanwhile, there were lots of misconceptions being spewed out there…I just want to assure that the toll booth is set to bring in revenue for Linden, through persons who are utilising Linden and taking all of the benefits out of the town, such as businesses which are coming from out of town. For long, the local business people have been complaining that people are coming from out of town, set up shop in their vehicles and whatsoever and they are selling and affecting their business… So now, with the toll booth coming in, it creates for a level playing field where they’re going to be contributing as well to the township,” said Holland.
With respect to all the vehicles having to pay tolls, the Mayor said: “They’re just rumours… that was never discussed in our statutory, there’s no cost, no discussion, nothing…it’s in the by-laws that there is certain things in terms of businesses and these heavy trucks using the roads and it’s a general law…There’s nothing for taxis, and there’s nothing for private vehicles…it’s for people selling…coming from town.”
He added that there have been some changes, however, as it related to fees as he outlined that the previous fees were age old. This, he said, had been discussed during a meeting with the Linden Chamber of Commerce and Development and was agreed to by the parties involved. In one instance, he noted that there was a recommendation by the Chamber for one of the proposed fees to be further lowered which is expected to be discussed at a future meeting.
“There were five changes…with the age old prices…there were five raised changes in five categories which we made, which we went through with the Chamber and they understood and accepted it,” Mayor Holland said.
The Mayor added that the LM&TC, in keeping with inclusivity norms, has an open-door policy whereby anyone can schedule an appointment and meet with him to discuss relevant issues.