Developing downtown Kingston
published: Wednesday | February 19, 2003
Delroy Chuck
ANYONE WORKING or visiting downtown Kingston must feel a sense of shame and regret at the appalling condition of our capital city. The physical infrastructure, social conditions and, in fact, the whole ambience is one of decay, decline and rot. The Kingston Harbour, one of the finest natural harbours anywhere, has become a cesspool for sewage and a garbage dump. For whatever reason, Kingston has been allowed to deteriorate and disintegrate into one of the worst capitals in the world.
Many of us still have pleasant memories of a thriving business district, a bustling symbol of Caribbean welcome, clean attractive surroundings and a capital city that was destined to develop into a financial, business and tourism hub of the Western Hemisphere. My happy reminiscences, as a young schoolboy in the sixties, are of the business landmarks, Woolworth and Times Store - now gone - of tourist ships sailing into Kingston Harbour, of tourist guides showing thousands of visitors around, of the 'Cross the Harbour' swimming competitions, of the frolic on the waterfront, the bathing at Gunboat and Buccaneer beaches, and so much more. I still remember those halcyon days and dream of what Kingston could have been, but quietly ponder how virtually everything has gone wrong.
Nowadays, I still entertain thoughts of what Kingston could become, even to recapture its lost pride and glory, if only we had the political will, business interests, development vision and motivation to build a truly great capital, and bequeath a model city to future generations. I am happy to hear of plans to develop downtown Kingston but why have these not been presented to the public, even to Parliament? Do these plans go far enough to envisage what Kingston could be in 10 or 25 years time? Is it merely a clean up plan to satisfy present business interests in the area?
Downtown Kingston needs a comprehensive development plan, geared for the 21st Century, incorporating business and social interests, to modernise the housing stock, to clean and sustain Kingston Harbour for fishing and swimming, to build a vibrant and pleasant capital city for Jamaicans and tourists and, in fact, to make tourism its lifeblood. Indeed, every modern capital city across the world depends on tourism to sustain its commerce and to develop its economy, which easily explains why Kingston is definitely going in the wrong direction.
I have been fortunate to visit and see many capitals of the world, and few compare with the natural and scenic beauty of Kingston. From the skies, Kingston and its Harbour are naturally beautiful and pleasant to the eyes. However, when one hits the ground, travelling in from the Norman Manley or Tinson Pen Airports, the ugliness and nastiness that overtake the natural beauty of the mountain background is just, simply, sad. Kingston doesn't need any landmark, or anything more, to sell it as a tourism destination, it simply needs the political and business leadership to revitalise and make it the tourism capital of the Caribbean, for a start. Let's face it, compared with the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Barbados or anywhere in the Caribbean, nothing compares to the splendour and attractiveness of the rolling and undulating Blue Mountains. Kingston has everything, and much more - than Georgetown, Bridgetown, Freeport, etc. - yet, at
present, not a tourist can be seen anywhere downtown.
In recent times, two of the more beautiful cities I have visited are Sydney, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa. The Sydney Harbour is enhanced by its Opera House, an architectural magnificence, and the whole city is geared towards entertaining and providing for visitors. Cape Town has the natural background of Table Mountain, which is no comparison to the Blue Mountains, yet the city has been renovated, reclaimed and rebuilt to attract tourists - to enjoy the pleasantries of the harbour and to visit Robben Island. In fact, without tourism, Sydney and Cape Town would become ghost towns, which is a lesson we need to learn when we seek to develop Kingston.
Downtown Kingston can surely become the tourism mecca of the Western Hemisphere. Do we have dreamers and planners to develop Kingston, its harbour, its natural surroundings of Port Royal and Port Henderson, the mountains and plains, to attract five or ten million visitors every year? I strongly believe that Kingston cannot be redeveloped and economically sustained unless tourism is revived and made the main activity of the Kingston waterfront. When I visit the Cayman Islands, Curacao, etc., with nothing to offer but excellent shopping bargains, I wonder why Kingston must be left so far behind. With proper planning, Kingston can once again be a shopping paradise and sufficiently attractive for cruise ships to visit, for tourists to spend and for the local craft markets to boom.
Are our present planners dreaming of millions of tourists on the streets of downtown Kingston? If they are not, then they need to go back to the drawing board. I still hope and dream of Kingston being the financial, commercial and tourism hub of the Western Hemisphere, it is a dream I want to see realised.
Delroy Chuck is an attorney-at-law and Opposition Member of Parliament. He can be contacted by e-mail at delchuck@hotmail.com
