MP Lane says activity will return to The City once planned projects get going

By Jenique Belgrave

The range of projects planned for The City will transform this island’s capital into a thriving “green, sustainable and smart city”.

Addressing recent concerns about the bleak state of Bridgetown, Member of Parliament for The City Corey Lane announced that there are several major projects planned to help drive activity back into the area.

“Within this financial year, and in the next few years, there are major projects coming that will bring some economic activity and drive traffic back through The City again. For example, the Hyatt project, the Pierhead project, the plans to turn the Treasury Building into housing and many others that have either started or are about to start that will see the upliftment of business in The City,” he stated.

Additionally, Lane, who is also the Minister of State in the Attorney General’s Office with responsibility for Crime Prevention, said the government had formed several partnerships to reintroduce movement to Bridgetown, including one with the University of the West Indies.

“You see the introduction of UWI in The City as a small example where you can have university cities where you use the students to bring life to the capital,” he stated.

On Sunday night during a public meeting in Baxter’s Road, several Democratic Labour Party members expressed serious concerns about the state of the nation’s capital. Former party leader Verla De Peiza described it as “dead and desolate”.

“The face of Bridgetown is dilapidated. Never have we had it like this. Government led the move and a march out of Bridgetown. If you really think about it, there are very few government departments left in the capital of Barbados. Several businesses have followed,” she said.

Agreeing that there has been a significant loss of commercial activity over the past decade as businesses relocated to Warrens and Sheraton Centre and more Barbadians turned to online shopping sites like Amazon and eBay, Lane pointed out that many capital cities around the world are having a similar experience. He insisted that government’s plans to develop Bridgetown will entice more people back to the area over time.

“The City didn’t get this way overnight, so it cannot be transformed overnight either,” he noted, adding that the challenges of parking, littering, lighting and high rents are also areas being examined.

Vagrancy is also a growing concern, Lane said.

“One of the things we are grappling with is vagrancy, and the socially-displaced and that is adding a level of dimness to the face of the city. We’ve been working with the Sanitation Service Authority, National Conservation Commission, Barbados Tourism Incorporated, the Psychiatric Hospital, and several partners in relation to this particular problem, and seeing how we can treat to it in a compassionate fashion, and in a humane way,” he indicated. 

The MP said the government had already made some headway in providing green spaces and free Wi-Fi throughout Bridgetown.

“I just want the residents of The City and the people of Barbados to support and to have patience, as we bring urban renewal to Barbados,” he added.

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb