Dear Sir,

There are three items of concern pertaining to our roads, which affect tourists and locals. Two of them were addressed with the late Minister of Tourism and Transport, Shawn Crockwell, in August 2014.

I had presented an elaborate drawing of the first set of traffic lights in Paget, proceeding from Hamilton to Dockyard, and explained how the lights arrangements are ambiguous and therefore are confusing to our tourists, who rent mopeds and nowadays those electric cars. The misreading of the centre lane poses a danger.

Just as I began to explain in detail the nature of the problem, the permanent secretary stood up and shut down the meeting.

I have talked to the police on the Everest DaCosta Show and with David Minors, of the Bermuda Road Safety Council. They both admitted that they were aware of the problem but that it was out of their hands. This conversation was held in 2012.

I have followed protocol strictly in trying to arrange a meeting with the public works minister and even the Premier, but was paid lip service. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to go to the media. These items come under our “civic duty”.

The second item is the eastern bus lay-by opposite Port Royal Primary School on Church Road in Southampton. The southern end juts out into the road and because there is only 7ft 3in between the wall and the yellow line, large, four-wheeled vehicles are not able to pass at the same time.

Those who attempt now and again go too far to the left, causing the mirrors to chip the wall. And also the tyres rub up against the kerb stone. It has been reported to me also sometimes the two vehicles’ mirrors touch each other. My hope was for the wall and the kerb stone to be taken back by 20 inches. These concerns are shared by many constituents.

The third item is the road drain opposite my property at 29 St Anne’s Road, Southampton. The exit end of the pipe is lined up with the hedge between the two properties.

Two years ago, the owner of the western property had a load of sand and mulch dumped over the exit end, causing the water having to seep through. Obviously, because the seepage is so slow, when it rains for a sustained period, the water on the road builds up to ten inches. This causes traffic to cross on the opposite side.

The other problems are that those longitudinal cracks in the road are getting wider, that there is a huge crack in the 6ft concrete foundation, and the sand and leaves are dispersed by vehicles into my paved driveway.

This letter is not to malign the Ministry of Public Works, or the Government, but to reach out hoping something positive can be done to make the roads safer for our motoring public.

KENNETH TODD

Southampton