By Sailu Bah
Commercial vehicle drivers at the Old Yundum Car Park told Foroyaa that 
they have a land to use as a car park, but there are no proper facilities in it.
This garage is a major hub where people from different areas within the coastal road as far as Yuna come to access vehicles to go to Banjul and other parts of the Kanifing Municipality.
At the Old Yundum Car Park, drivers said they cannot use the car park like other car parks to wait for passengers but to take a U turn and stand on the road to pick passengers. They added that the entrance of the car park is not in good condition as well as the garage grounds which they say is filled to the brim with stagnant water.
Baboucarr Njie, a commercial vehicle driver who plies between the coastal road and Banjul said the condition of the car park is a major problem to them as it is making them to abandon the car park and stand on the road to pick up passengers.
“We have no proper facilities in the Car Park, such as toilets, water, sheds for drivers and passengers and the garage is muddy when it rains and the ground is not levelled and has potholes and pool of stagnant water,” explained the drivers of the old Yundum car park.
Abdoulie Gaye, a van driver added that the garage needs to be built with good facilities for people to be able to use it.
“Hundreds of people coming from different places within the coastal road come to board a vehicle to their final destinations, but because of the poor condition of the garage they divert to other routes,” he emphasised.
He said people going to other places to access vehicle are not an advantage to them because it minimizes their earnings.
Abdoulie Gaye also put emphasis on the poor road conditions of the Coastal road between Tabokoto and Old Yundum which is compelling them to go for regular maintenance every three days.
“Going for maintenance is an extra cost, and the road condition is very bad. I now don’t go for lot of trips because I have to drive very slowly with my vehicle in order to avoid it getting spoiled, but it really minimizes my income,” lamented Mr. Gaye, a driver at Old Yundum garage.
kebba Ceesay, the head of the garage and the National Transport Controllers’ Association representative for Buffer zone to Airport Junction said he is very much aware of the plight of the drivers because they always lay their complaints to him.
He said that the poor condition of the garage compels drivers to stand on the high way and cause lot of traffic jams. He also said it forces lot of vehicles to divert and use the Lamin highway which reduces their income and causes transportation scarcity. He added that the garage is prone to floods because the ground is not levelled.
Mr. Ceesay said they spend more than D36000 to make the garage and the entrance, but still they couldn’t have lasting solutions because of the inadequate funds.
Mr. Ceesay revealed that they have been laying complaints to the Brikama Area Council for them to remedy the situation, but still to no avail.
Mr. Ceesay urged the local authorities and the Central government to help them solve the problem of the garage and the road.
The Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Brikama Area Council, Modou Jonga, speaking on the issue raised by the drivers in his office said last year they resorted to a temporal measure of repairing the entrance and the inner part of the Garage.
PRO Jonga said the Old Yundum Car Park is under Banjulinding ward and they have not yet received a request from the Ward Development Committee (WDC) regarding the garage.
“As a development oriented council, we work according to proposals sent to us by WDCs and we prioritize the areas to intervene, depending on the needs of the people,” He said.
The old yundum Garage
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