EDITORIAL: We can do better
A few years ago the former government launched the Bridgetown Urban Renaissance Project and the Artscape Mural Programme, and at the time there was hope that the capital city would be transformed and would become a cleaner place, but the initiative did not eliminate the problems in the city.
The project was intended to address some of the challenges that impact negatively on the landscape and environment of our UNESCO World Heritage City, and was hoped it would help to change the attitudes and behaviours of our people as it relates to the sanitation of the city. The project was intended to provide a clean, vibrant, safe and welcoming environment for all residents, businesses and visitors to our capital city; address and mitigate the issues negatively impacting on the aesthetics and commerce of the city; create a sustainable programme of art and culture throughout the year; install art throughout the city space; provide employment for artists and the youth; sensitise all about the need to keep the city clean; and finally, to promote the heritage of the UNESCO site to locals and visitors. As part of that effort, focus was to be placed on putting a stop to public urination and littering in the city and while in the months after it was launched, such activity was reduced, it still remains a problem today.
It is therefore imperative that the new government, now one year and one month into the job, add this to the list of things that it needs to address. Certainly, it cannot be denied that Historic Bridgetown is long overdue for some attention, and we hope that this is an effort not undertaken by Government alone – the private sector indeed has an undeniable role to play.
Now we might not want to admit it, but public urination in this country, particularly in Bridgetown, is a massive problem. Too often as we walk through the various side streets and alleyways throughout the city, our noses are assaulted by the awful stench of stale urine. Now while it is easy to say fine those who answer the call of nature in our alleyways, the fact is that for many the alley is the only place to go, as there are not enough public restrooms available.
Certainly there are several establishments in Bridgetown that have bathrooms, but essentially those are for their paying customers, and if then we are asking them to allow everyone to utilise their restrooms, it would be expected that there would be a cost associated with it. And while there are a few public restrooms in the City, there is no way those are enough.
The current government is not likely to continue that city project that was launched in 2016, and understandably so, as every government wants to do things their way, and that is fine. In that vein, we would want to offer some suggestions on what can be done to clean up the city. First, we need to take advantage of the UNESCO designation and seek to do more city tours, the likes of those put on during the Crop Over Season, not only at night but during the day as well, to entertain locals and visitors alike. But we cannot have them walking around smelling foul scents. So of necessity, adequate bathroom facilities must be the order of the day. In addition to putting those public restrooms in place, there should also be adequate signage erected in full view, to alert persons to the locations, and proximity in relation to where they may be in the city.
And on the topic of signage, we feel that it would serve the city well to have signs erected, not only showing the names of streets and history of the areas, but just as there are mall directories showing patrons where stores are located, we could have similar directories set up at strategic points, showing where landmarks, bus terminals, taxi stands, stores, restaurants and the like are located.