Mayor vows to fix central Port of Spain streets

THE streets of central Port of Spain, home to some of the most valuable commercial real estate in the country, rarely enjoy smooth roads for long.

Some even look to be in a state of indefinite deterioration.

The condition of Richmond Street, where luxury car dealerships, government ministries, schools, financial institutions and other large-scale businesses are situated, saw otherwise free-flowing traffic slow to a crawl before most businesses were closed.

Speaking with Newsday briefly on Friday, Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez said he has been made increasingly aware of the condition of the roads recently. He vowed to begin to address the issue next week, in spite of funding issues and a shortage of the proper paving materials.

"I understand there are a number of potholes throughout the city, and especially the central business district," he said.

During the pandemic and particularly through the state of emergency, central Port of Spain saw noticeably less traffic.

However, concerns are being raised about the state of the roads which attract high volumes of traffic, particularly as non-essential businesses are soon expected to reopen.

Richmond Street is particularly useful for drivers trying to avoid traffic jams on Park and St Vincent Streets, and is used by most western taxi routes bound for Independence Square and South Quay.

The corner of Duke and Henry Streets is another example of a junction which naturally attracts heavy traffic but is littered with unavoidable dips and fractures. At night, drivers unfamiliar with the scattering of deep holes, often filled with sharp stones, are at risk of injury in an accident or having their vehicles damaged.

"As a matter of fact," Martinez said, "a minister of government recently called me on it and alerted me that Richmond Street is really in a state and needed to be looked after, and I did indicate to him that it will get my attention, as soon as I am able to next week to speak to the council on it."

Martinez's move comes in good time as restrictions are set to be lifted at food places from Monday, with other businesses likely to follow.

But he said the corporation is facing major obstacles in terms of both funding and availability of high-quality material needed for long-term road repairs.

"Funding is much more difficult (under these circumstances). You see, you need to have money to buy the materials, but materials are also not available. Whenever the plant at Agua Santa (asphalt plant) is down, and there is a shortage of hot mix, which is required, then we cannot do it (properly).

"If we do it with cold mix, it will just be a temporary patch."