Bath Land residents ‘waiting 50 years’ for service

Residents of Bath Land in Welch Town, St John, are renewing calls for public transportation and long-promised road repairs, saying they have waited decades for a bus service and the long wait puts the vulnerable in their community at risk.

Citing deteriorating road conditions and the hardship faced by elderly and ailing residents, one resident told Barbados TODAY, “I’ve been living here for 50 years and never had a bus service.”

“All we would like is for the roads to be done and for us to get bus service. People are ailing. You have people whose knees are aching, some who are totally bent. The sick people, the old people… something needs to be done,” the resident said.

Residents also said the absence of a bus route forces them to walk long distances to the main road, a journey that is both physically taxing and, at times, unsafe.

“In the morning, you have to walk far up to the main road to catch a bus,” another woman said.

“There could be anybody lurking in the dark, and for those who leave early or get home late, it’s dangerous.”

The issue has taken centre stage in recent community discussions, with New National Party (NNP) leader and St John MP hopeful, Kemar Stuart, accusing successive administrations of neglecting the area.

He pointed to promises made as far back as the 2018 general election campaign to rehabilitate the community’s crumbling roadways.

St John MP Charles Griffith. (FP)

“Starting from the top of Welch straight down to the bottom of what the residents call ‘Big Hill,’ there’s serious deterioration all throughout. They toured the area many times, even protested. At one point, the top of Welch was closed off and persons had to come up through one of the roughest terrains,” he said.

Stuart added that the narrow, uneven roads pose a challenge to vehicle access, but said that should not be an excuse to continue excluding the community from basic transport services.

“There are a lot of women and children in this district. For safety reasons, we need a proper smooth road and a bus to come all the way down so that elderly people don’t have to walk from the bottom to the top,” he added.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY, St John MP Charles Griffith confirmed that plans are underway to address the infrastructure concerns under the ongoing Scotland District Road Rehabilitation Programme.

“It is expected that the roadworks will be done under the Scotland District Work Programme, coming in from Andromeda [Botanic] Gardens to Bath,” Griffith said, adding that the work follows Friday’s delivery of land conveyances to several households in the area.

Though acknowledging the promises, residents say words are not enough.

“We are not asking for luxury,” one woman said.

“Just a decent road and a bus to come through that’s all. After 50 years, and long before because my mother’s mother had to walk as well; it’s past time.” 

shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb