Published By The Jamaican Gleaner.01-09-06

Bad roads frustrate life in Treasure Beach

It's a village that has gained a well-earned reputation as an ideal destination. It regularly stages many well-attended events - an international literary festival, a jazz festival, a triathlon, a fishermen's regatta, wholesome comedy nights, etc. It is also home to hundreds of fishing families and tourist villas, attracting visitors in search of its relaxing, rejuvenating atmosphere.

The problem is that Treasure Beach in St. Elizabeth, the 'home of community tourism', cannot be easily accessed these days via the main road leading into the village. The alternatives are not much better.

Severely undermined by Hurri-cane Ivan and other storms in 2004 and 2005, the roadway below the police station at the entrance to the community is now a treacherous obstacle course.

Previous repairs have failed, the surface quickly washed away by runoffs from rains in the hills above. The result is a rocky, undulating subsurface, with large sections eaten away due to the absence of a drainage system and retaining walls.

Described as a 'bridle track' by some residents, passage along this poorly-lit roadway is most dangerous at nights when several vehicles have crashed into adjoining premises.

First-time visitors to Treasure Beach are taken aback when first they behold this 'gateway' to their much-cherished holiday destination. Repeat visitors are bemused at the apparent neglect.

Just getting worse

"They just can't believe that the road they saw a year ago is in the same condition, or worse than their last visit," Sylvan James, who transports visitors from the international airports, told The Gleaner.

Kory South, owner of Sunset Villa, has similarly grown accustomed to getting an earful from his guests.

"I get a lot of high-end guests at my hotel and they are just appalled and ask me (as a member of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association) how come these roads have not been fixed," he said.

In his defence, South explains that he and other villa operators have written many letters to the authorities and have followed up with telephone calls, to no avail.

Much of the attention is now fixed on the National Works Agency (NWA) which has responsibility for the country's primary road network.

When contacted by The Gleaner, Stephen Shaw, communi-cations manager at the NWA, candidly admitted that plans for the restoration of the road had not been completed. He promised, however, that the matter would be taken up early in September.

The options

There were a number of options being considered, Shaw disclosed. These, he said, included the possibility of diverting the road immediately below the police station, through what is currently private property. Creating a new, straight stretch of roadway, he said, would circumvent the need to embark on costly drainage works along the deep bend of the existing alignment.

Shaw reiterated, however, that no decision had been made yet on the matter, as the costs attendant on each option had to be carefully considered.

This promise of action in September comes months after irate residents blocked the road, in a short-lived protest, in April. The local police, acting swiftly, brought a halt to their demonstration.

That protest did elicit a promise of action by the NWA. Action that is still pending.

George Deleon, president of the Citizens Alert Group of Treasure Beach, which led the protest, is disillusioned: "We keep getting excuses as to why no action has been taken and we are getting frustrated."

There is an updated article in today's Gleaner about TB roads.

Click here for the article and photos.

Thanks Earl Moxam for your continued dedication to TB!

I recieved an email from Kicki this morning asking me to post the following information:

I have some more information regarding the roads. It's actually relevant to German, Austrian and Swiss TB-visitors, but I'm sure the same applies to tourists from other countries as well.

Two days ago I called the German representation of the "Jamaican Tourist Board", they're in charge of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, to complain about the road situation. They were very helpful and understanding (the person I spoke to has been to TB and knew what I was talking about...). They told me to e-mail a complaint to the regional director of the Jamaican embassy in Germany and provided me with the contact information, her name is Ms Pat Samuels and her e-mail is cultour@jamador.de. They told me that Ms. Samuels is travelling to Jamaica every two months to meet with the people from the ministry of tourism and discuss any problems and issues that come to her attention.

I think that if enough people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who are reading the ongoing discussion about the roads on the TB-Net would e-mail her and complain about the situation, it’s very likely that she'll bring this up at one of her next meetings with the ministry of tourism and put some pressure on them. The same could be done by frequent visitors from other countries.

Regards,
Kicki

Thank you so much Kicki for this helpful information!

And thanks for the photos which accompanied the article, Rebecca!
Remember what they say about the worth of a picture...

Nice to see you back my friend!

What terrible shame that the Jamaicans and the community of Treasure Beach, that votes and pay taxes, cannot put pressure to bear on their own politician, leaders, and the public works department. It is now going to take a German to bring pressure on the governmental department. How long are going to be shakled with colonial mentality. I guess we will all take the repairs and reconstruction whichever way we can get it.
Please tell this guy at NWA, fix the road now and make the other path that been consider secondary. We can never have too many road leading to Treasure Beach. It will take time to buy the lands , hire contractors and the likes, remember the pond, the channelling of the flood water. Still been debated ad infinitum. All talks and complain get us nowhere fast, ACTION NOW please someboby

@Soji O
quote: "It is now going to take a German to bring pressure on the governmental department."

you should be GLAD for everybody who is willing to raise his voice for this...

greetings from Germany