Neil Richards What’s the future character of Lady Musgrave Road

The intention to plant thousands of trees to escort Lady Musgrave Road when her waistline expands has not consoled some irate citizens whose fundamental concern is the likely radical change to the character of the bordering neighbourhood when the road expands.

The same advocates who plead for retention of the physical character of the environs of Lady Musgrave Road have similar fears for the environs of East King’s House Road, which is the extended leg of Lady Musgrave Road.

A less-vocal brigade seems to care less, much less, whether an expanded East King’s House Road becomes the ground-level version of a flying carpet on which automobiles conveying mainly one person, zip along in eve- increasing numbers. That mid-St Andrew road is already in use as a speedway by unruly daytime motorists. It is not an over-reaction to anticipate that a wider, smoother thoroughfare will become an officially forbidden, but uncaringly used drag-racing strip while neighbours struggle to snooze.

Conservatives, who cherish the cultural best of an earlier time and wish that some vestiges of it be retained in recognisable form, have witnessed the quick density-overload of residential properties along Charlemont Avenue and Paddington Terrace in St Andrew. That occurrence would certainly make preservationists fear the worst for the future character of the environs of Lady Musgrave Road and her extended leg.

OVERSHADOWED

Even without intrusion by wider roads, the once-sedate Charlemont Avenue and Paddington Terrace environs are now a shadow of their former ‘selves’ after several single-storey residences became overshadowed by multi-storey complexes.

The expression ‘important historic value’ and its manifestation in some well-maintained older neighbourhoods, matters little, or not at all, to some onlookers. What matters dearly to some eagle-eyed members of the real-estate development community is the prospect of yielding multiple residential plots from seemingly dormant traditional neighbourhoods regarded as ripe for cutting-up and carving-up.

Design proposals sensitive to the prevailing character of particular older neighbourhoods would probably appease ardent traditionalists.

The future character of the environs of Lady Musgrave Road should reflect a reasonable compromise that does not always expect time to stand still and be reflected in the way neighbourhoods or buildings were originally designed and built, unless public funds or private endowments enable historic features to survive for a very long time.

There is a good opportunity to at least retain substantial natural features of the Lady Musgrave Road and East King’s House Road transportation corridor. Decisions in that regard will be the responsibility of the landscape architect who will hopefully not be constrained by new extended road dimensions, when recommending the retention of select features.

Among the full of life features whose lives should hopefully be spared are iconic lignum vitae trees which thrive alongside parts of Lady Musgrave Road. A permanent reprieve from possible demise should also be granted to mature ‘tinkin toe’ trees in which parrots feed, chatter loudly and raise their families alongside East King’s House Road.

A well-conceived night-lighting system, and sidewalks free of obstacles are good objectives for the future avenue. An Environmental Impact Assessment of the civil engineering proposals for road-widening would have recognised that the environs have had a history of flooding, apparently now controlled by three very distinct paved gullies that traverse that transportation corridor.

Selection of trees that will endure drought, wind-stress and Jamaica’s woeful maintenance culture, will be necessary considerations. This is a chance to demonstrate good maintenance of a tree-lined thoroughfare.

A much wider Lady Musgrave Road and East ‘ House Road appear destined to become real avenues in the true meaning of that word. Trees galore should not become an attractive greenery-scenery shield for behind-the-scenes demotion of the character of the adjacent neighbourhoods.

- Neil Richards is an architect and town planner. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com