Beware of the dangers from above!

Jan 21, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – Many years ago, the PPP/C cleared the Lamaha embankment of squatters and their unsightly makeshift homes. It was not the first time that this had happened; during the PNC regime, the squatters who planted kitchen gardens on small plots on the embankment were forcibly removed.
The squatters, however, returned only to find that they needed to be physically present to protect their small plots. As such they erected makeshift homes along the stretch from Vlissengen Road to Camp Street.
The PPP/C served notice on them to remove. The PPP/C however, offered resettlement incentives, including land, building materials and transportation. Everyone moved and the embankment became a green space, devoid of unsightly structures.
But it was not aesthetics which led to the removal of the residents of the embankment located parallel to Lamaha Street and bounded by High Street and Vlissengen Road. The PPP/C explained that the squatters were in grave physical danger since the electricity corporation was running high voltage power lines and this would pose a risk to life and limb.
Not long after the squatters had departed, permission was granted to a sports bar, located on Lamaha Street, to use two sections of the embankment for customer parking. Later the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) established a staff parking facility on the section just east of Camp Street.
That site has now become a temporary vehicle inspection bay for the GRA. It appears that the safety considerations which forced the removal of the squatters from the embankment did not apply to the customers of the sports bar or to the staff and clients of the GRA.
Now, we are being told that a walkway is going to be built on the embankment between Parade Street and Camp Street. The old train station, located between High and Parade Streets, is going to be restored and converted into a breakfast diner and an art gallery. The adjoining section which will be developed into a walkway will have a parking bay. Security and good lighting has been promised.
People will therefore be able to come out in the daytime and evenings and enjoy the warm tropical ambience. They will be able to take a nice evening stroll. But only for one extended block since the walkway will start at Parade Street and end at Camp Street. The high voltage power lines do not appear to be a concern at this stage.
But why have such a short walkway. Why not have it extended, as was previously mooted, all the way to Vlissengen Road? It could have then been used for exercising purposes and reduce the afternoon congestion in the National Park. It would have also provided much needed outdoor relaxation and play area for the residents of North Cummingsburg, Kingston, Albertown and Queenstown, regardless of the dangers from the overhanging power lines.
The GRA should have been asked to remove from that section which it presently occupies. That agency collects hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes and surely can afford to pay commercial rates for private property to establish a car park/s for its staff and customers.
It has been reported that the GRA will be building a new building on the East Coast of Demerara. Surely when this is completed there would be less need for the parking space on the embankment.
The initiative by the President to establish a walkway is a good one. It increases the recreational space in the city. But it makes little sense having a walkway which is merely one extended block. A much more ambitious project, preferably done in phases could have been attempted which would have seen the entire stretch from High Street to Vlissengen Road developed.
Some persons had even indicated that the area could have been used for public parking. North Cummingsburg, Kingston and Eve Leary are now crammed with vehicular parking. And the entire stretch from High Street to Vlissengen Road could have become one large public car park. Bus parks and car parks could have also been relocated along this stretch.
The walkway is being rushed. It is expected to be finished in a matter of weeks. But in the haste to develop this facility, the government missed the opportunity to determine just what would have been best for the people. But then again, this is the Achilles Heel of governments, isn’t it?
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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