City Hall to move against illegal pavement elevation

…after woman breaks foot

Town Clerk Royston King has given a commitment to ensure that pavements and parapets are not encumbered so as to threaten the safety of citizens who have to use them.
The commitment came in the wake of a complaint by city businesswoman, Bibi Singh, who suffered a fractured foot last week while navigating the elevated pavement in front of the newly-opened Royal Castle outlet on Croal Street.
According to reports, on March 2, last, Singh was walking along the pavement outside the fast food outlet when she stumbled onto something and was knocked her off her feet. That something turned out to be one of three inclined six-inch platforms.
According to the injured woman’s husband, Rudolph Singh, the guard on duty outside the facility did nothing to help the stricken woman. “All he said was that people fall there every day,” Singh told this newspaper.
His wife managed to get up unaided and was subsequently taken to the hospital where an x-ray revealed that she suffered a broken bone in her left foot.

Bibi Singh suffered a broken foot after stumbling on the elevated structure.

“I wonder how Royal Castle got permission to erect this on council’s pavement. How many people have to break their foot before this monstrosity is broken and replaced with evenly lifted pavement?” Singh asked.
When contacted yesterday, Town Clerk King said that action will be taken immediately to remove the structure.
According to King, Royal Castle got no permission to elevate the pavement.
He said that council is concerned that many business owners are elevating the pavement in front of their properties, making it difficult for persons, especially those who are differently-able, to navigate them.
“All will be graded to allow proper use, especially the differently-able persons. We will also be moving against the placing of boulders on council’s reserves,” King told this newspaper.
However a Royal Castle official in an invited comment said that the company was granted permission by the Council to modify the pavement in front of its Croal Street outlet.
“We got the plan approved. Why hasn’t anyone from the council told us about this violation? They have not given us any notice,” the Royal Castle official told Kaieteur News.
He did say, however, that the company is ready and willing to comply with any directive given by the Council. He also acknowledged that the company will have to make consideration for the differently-able, especially since they are also customers.