#1492: LaBoule Toll Road Proposal: Delatour comments

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Mario L. Delatour <mardel@gol.com>

A privateTolling company for the maintenance of the Laboule road is indeed
a superb idea.But there is just one thing missing from this well
intentioned and well conceived idea.What would you do about the SAND TRUCKS
on that road ?Those ten wheel MONSTERS whose tonnage is responsible for the
constant deterioration of that road. Irresponsible truck drivers that are a
constant menace to other drivers on that road.They speed,run out of
brakes,dump sand all over the road and they pressure & overwhelm you with
their sheer size when they want to get by.It is an intimidating scene on
that road. Imagine two fully loaded trucks passing each other on a narrow
road with no rail guards.As a regular user of the Laboule road I am sure
you have had your close calls with those guys. A ten wheeler loaded to the
max,tailgating you and honking those mega horns is BIG TIME pressure.You
are sitting there and praying to god this guy does'nt run out of
brakes,cause if he does you're history.Those maniacs are lethal and have
caused many accidents.While we are on that subject,let me say that many
attempts have been made to shut down this sand quarry in Laboule.A sand
quarry which is an ecological disaster with serious ramifications for the
city of Port au Prince.That sand quarry is an accident waiting to
happen.And what has happenned when they attempted to shut it down ? Sand
shovelers (roughly a 100 of those guys) have hit the streets to protest
that their livelihood is beeing taken away from them.The truck drivers have
joined them and blocked the road with their ten wheelers.Residents of the
Laboule roads have been held hostage with nowhere to go.Lance its a serious
issue.The last time that happened,CIMO the Haitian Police riot squad had to
go up there in tear gas those bad boys.
Tolling is not a new idea though,it was done before by the wrong people and
for the wrong reasons.As a kid around 1965,I remember Luckner
Cambronne,Papa Doc's man of all seasons installing a tolling booth on the
Bourdon section of John Brown.The money was taken for what they called at
the time "Renovation Nationale".And guess what that beautiful project was?
"Duvalier Ville" (Cabaret)  the Haitian version of Brasilia which seats on
the northern road on the way to the beach. Not a cent was spent on the
Petion Ville road. I remember my father paying a toll fee while a
"Macoute"stood on guard next to the toll booth.In those days you payed or
you die. 
I welcome the idea but lets find a way to resolve this sand quarry issue
first.

By the way the DR beat us to the tunnel,they inaugurated a long one on
George Washington blv in Santo Domingo last February (I may be wrong on the
name of the street though).









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