Is it the David Granger Street or the David Patterson Road?

May 14, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

From Premier Cheddi Jagan in 1957 through to Forbes Burnham down to Desmond Hoyte and onwards, our prime ministers, then subsequently, our executive presidents have made disastrous mistakes because they think they know what/is best for Guyana.
The mistakes of all of them from Premier Jagan in 1957 to David Granger at the moment could have been avoided if these leaders weren’t inflexible with what they desired to see implemented.
Space would not allow for even a mention of some of these mid-directions because they are countless. It is my opinion, the 2015 government wasted valuable time and money on the D’Urban Park project but this is not the one I want to look at. That is already done. At the moment, the Ministry of Public Works (oops, sorry, Public Infrastructure) is widening the Railway Embankment at the area where Giftland Mall is.
I stay from my bedroom window and I see the traffic congestion quite often. With the widening, there will be three dimensions of easy driving. You can turn directly into Giftland, traveling west on the Embankment without your vehicle having to wait on vehicles travelling east on the Embankment and going into Giftland.
Secondly, you can turn west coming out of Giftland without having to wait on cars traveling westward on the Embankment; a separate westward lane is being laid down. Finally, drivers traveling east on the Embankment and have no business with GIftland will not have to wait on drivers coming out of GIftland and heading east; a separate east bound lane is being worked on right now.
So there you have it; a nice, neat, expansion to eradicate headaches outside of Giftland. So is there anything wrong? Well read on and you will see the widening and money going into that project will end up being wasted. Here is why. And please readers; this is just my layman’s opinion based on the fact that I live right in the area. In June, a huge structure will be completed yards from Giftland going east.
It will feature a number of cinemas and an entertainment complex including the Hard Rock Café franchise. In that structure, there will be a massive Massy Supermarket. This is top class architecture in which there will be a breath-taking view of the Atlantic since it is on the old Atlantic highway.
To facilitate traffic, the Ministry of Public Works (oops, sorry again, Public Infrastructure) is creating a road that will lead to the new building off the Embankment (right opposite where I live). You can get to the complex from the Embankment and leave from the Embankment.
So what is my point? Here is it. The competition will lead to lesser crowds at Giftland thereby transferring the vehicular nightmare down the road. What is taking place outside GIftland will ease in June and will take up residence on the Embankment right at the junction with that new street. So what is my recommendation?
It would have been better to have a traffic rank spend the next month regulating the traffic outside GIftland than spend those millions to widen the area when the government sees the confusion at the new road; that area could then be widened. An identical, not similar, but identical nightmare we are seeing outside GIftland will move up the road with the Movie Towne/Massy complex.
You can solve what is to come by widening the Embankment by the new edifice but when you do that a waste of money would have occurred because after June you will not have that vehicular jungle outside Giftland. If you noticed my theory here rests on one fulcrum – competition from Movie Towne/ Massy will eat into Gitfland’a patronage.
You can take an opposing opinion. But it is my view that what that imminent edifice will cater for will affect attendance at Giftland. Given the type of business both complexes are offering, I think the Movie Towne/ Massy thing with its attractive architecture will win out. Entertainment things like cinemas, fast food outlets, restaurants, nightclubs supermarkets attract people for one fundamental reason – it is human nature. People will dance the night away at the latest nightclub, and when the newest one is born, they are gone. The same with dining. The same with fast food. The same with boutique shopping. The same with sport cars.
The road from across the street from where I live to the Movie Towne/ Massy building is nearing completion. They are currently building the bridge over the trench. I see it every day and I wonder what will be its name – David Granger Street or David Patterson Road?

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Is it the David Granger Street or the David Patterson Road?

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