Name streets after local icons

MINISTER of Local Government and Rural Development Kazim Hosein wants more streets to be named after local icons. He made the call at the unveiling of the Austin Lyons Street sign in Point Fortin on Thursday. The street was named after veteran calypsonian Austin “Superblue” Lyons, whose childhood home is a few metres away.

Hosein said when he took office a few years ago, the street signage programme was a mandate given to him by the Prime Minister. “Personally, I would like to see more street names reflecting the contributions of community role models and local icons.

“This programme is another example of the government’s commitment to development by improving road infrastructure across the nation, in town centres and rural areas alike,” he said.

In 2019, the local roads/street signage programme was launched at the Diego Martin Regional Corporation and has since spread across six regional corporations with collaboration between the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, the Ministry of Works and Transport and the regional corporations.

In a media release, the ministry said the initiative follows international standards and its objective was to ensure that every street in the country has a name so that it can be easily located.

It said this will make iteasier to carry out services such deliverimg goods and services, providing emergency health services, security services, accuracy of location-based services and navigation applications such as Google Maps and WAZE. The ministry is hopeful the project will reach the other eight regional corporations in the next few months.

Lyons said the tribute was timely, as he will soon be celebrating 40 years in the entertainment industry, and marked the event with an impromptu version of The Lord is My Shepherd with the refrain, “There is joy in my soul.” Also present was Point Fortin mayor Kennedy Richard Jr , who said it was important to instal such landmarks as one way of preserving history. He also noted that far too often such tributes were done posthumously, but should be done when the icons are alive.