By Denise Clarke, Staff Reporter WESTERN BUREAU:
THE CRIPPLING problem of traffic congestion in Montego Bay should be greatly eased by month-end, as five new car parks are slated to open for the benefit of motorists.
The car parks, which form part of an area spanning 21,500 square metres, and is the overlaying surface of the South Gully Drainage Project, was handed over the St. James Parish Council last week by National Works Agency (NWA), which has responsibility for the South Gully. Secretary/Manager of the Parish Council, Christopher Powell, said details as to how the property will be used are still being finalised. However, he said that the Council was moving ahead with its plans to open the car parks to the public in the hope that it will reduce the incidence of vehicles parking along the roadway, thereby improving the flow of traffic in the city.
"We are now sourcing gates for the car parks and we are going to build collection booths," Mr. Powell told The Gleaner in an interview on Tuesday. "We hope to have them up and running by the end of this month."
Powell said that two of the car parks are being designed for private parking. He said the one located on Harbour Street, near the craft market, will be reserved for vehicles transporting tourist as it allow easy access to the craft market.
The Council is also planning to use other areas of the South Gully real estate as an ancestral park, where members of the public can go and relax while enjoying the special amenities, which will be provided.
The sites include areas between Howard Cooke Boulevard and Harbour Street; Harbour Street and St. James Street; St. James Street to St. Clavers Avenue; St. Clavers Avenue to Payne Street; Payne Street to the Montego Bay Ice Factory; and from the ice factory to catchment basin No. 1.
Communications manager at the NWA, Vando Palmer, said the agency felt it was best to hand over the areas to the Council, so that Montego Bay could enjoy the benefits of using the areas.
"We felt it best for the Council to have the real estate and for them to utilise it in ways that will benefit the people of Montego Bay, and those who go in and out of the city on a daily basis," said Mr. Palmer. He added, however, that the NWA will continue to carry out its responsibility to maintain the South Gully project, but will have no jurisdiction over how the real estate is used.
Mr. Palmer also disclosed that a contract would be signed shortly for work to be carried out on the North Gully, also in Montego Bay. Heavy rains destroyed a section of the North Gully just over a year ago.
