If you live in Belize City, you know all about the traffic chaos that's unfolding with the simultaneous paving of so many major streets - including Freetown Road and North Front Street.
And so you can imagine our reaction today when we saw a release from the City Council which said that New Road from its junction with Queen Street to its junctions with Hyde's Lane will be closed for a month - right through Christmas.
Now, why do they need a whole month to pave two city blocks? The mayor explained that it's an experiment in city design:
Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"We have a special project for the area between Queen Street and Hyde's Lane, and we've contracted IE to full redevelopment of that area, including the drains the sidewalks. We're going to put trees, parking; they're going to look at the whole aesthetics of the area. One of the things that we have been reflecting on is that when we do the streets, the designs are mono-functional. We only deal with the streets, and we cement them. So, what they've done is that they've given us a multifunctional option to see how we've could incorporate drain space, and other modern theories of design elements. So, this is really only an experiment, and we've only picked a short area of road to do. And if this works well, and it's a good design - and I trust that it will be - then we will do that same thing along Coney Drive, and along Albert Street in Belize City."
Jules Vasquez
"How would you respond to the criticism that IE is woefully behind on the project it's doing at the Memorial Park, which is creating a paroxysm in the City at the launch of the cruise tourism season?"
Darrell Bradley
"Let me first say that IE is not behind schedule because the forecasting for that project is that it is to be finished by February next year. And they're all the way - BWS works and crew are all the way to the swing bridge. So in terms of their progress - and a significant amount of work that has already been done - Memorial Park, the basic structure has been completed. They're constructing other structures for the vendors. They've already done North and South Parks; they're already done with Cork Street, so a significant amount of the project is well on the way. So, they're not behind schedule, and I know that residents have expressed serious concerns as it relates to the inconvenience. But when this project is finished - and this project is a project being funded by the IDB, and the implementing agencies, BTB. But when this project is finished, persons will see a major upliftment in this area."
The IE firm also has its headquarters on that portion of New Road.
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