Vaz promises changes to pull Downtown Transport Centre from ‘unacceptable’ state

The current state of the Downtown Transport Centre has been described by Daryl Vaz, minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport, as “unacceptable”.

Vaz was touring the facility, located at North and South Parade, yesterday to observe the buses that utilise the facility and to assess the environment in which they operate.

Speaking with journalists, the minister said there were a number of changes that would need to be made at the transport centre in order to ensure the safety of commuters and to enable a better flow of traffic there.

“There is definitive need for some changes to be made here, logistically, to have the place more customer friendly,” he said.

Vaz then cited immediate areas to be addressed such as the erection of streetlights, signs, sanitary conveniences, bus sheds, and seating and rails to ensure safety and prevent crowding at the bus doors when they arrive. He also pointed to the need for a complete reorganisation of the space.

“These are all low-hanging fruits that don’t require a significant amount of funding,” Vaz said.

Also on the tour was Mayor of Kingston Delroy Williams; Owen Ellington, chairman of the Transport Authority; Paul Abrahams, managing director of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC); Ralston Smith, managing director of the Transport Authority; Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, and other officials.

Vaz announced that a joint committee would be established and would include the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), the Transport Authority, the JUTC, and the Jammaica Constabulary Force..

As the touring party made its way through, commuters took the opportunity to voice their complaints about the transport system.

“We have no bus. Portmore 12 route, we have no bus. We are struggling real bad ... we have to wait hours before we get a bus. Please, we need some buses,” was the cry of one commuter.

But Vaz pleaded with Jamaicans to give him “some time” to get a promised 100 new buses to the island as well as to make the relevant changes to ensure customer satisfaction, which he said is a key component to any transportation system.

“While we are working at that, we must consider the comfort and the safety of passengers and the way that these lay-bys are. Once the bus is in the bay, there’s really nowhere for the people to queue or sit, especially the elderly, and there’s nowhere to protect themselves from the elements of sun and rain. We can do better, and we will do better,” he said.

He continued that in short order, changes would be made and assured the public of his commitment to have the areas of concern rectified and rehabilitated in a way that would be pleasing to the commuting public.

Most difficult area

When he visited the North Parade section of the centre, Vaz said it was the most difficult area for bus arrivals at the park, given the congestion of vendors and parked cars near the entrance.

Vaz said he had been informed by the mayor that there were designated parking spots that could be found in the neighbouring St William Grant Park that were not being used that shop owners and staff in the vicinity could utilise to reduce the pile-up of traffic and to make the location more accessible.

Sophia House told The Gleaner that she welcomed the proposed redesigning of the space, believing that it was long-overdue.

As a worker at Metropolitan Parks and Markets Waste Management Limited, who sweeps the streets at night, House explained that the need for bathrooms was great as persons in the area routinely use the sidewalks to relieve themselves.

“I would a like the mayor to give them some bathroom and more bus because at night there are less bus running here and you have a lot of crowd. Some of the people dem go to work and them come in late at night, and when them come in they cannot get any bus to go home,” she said.

Volilia Williams, a vendor for more than 20 years, told The Gleaner that her main concern was whether the juice and snack vendors’ operations would be disrupted.

“Them fi remember say is a bus park, and them a run the higgler dem weh sell juice and so ... and the people dem a go want refreshments, so how da part deh a go work? Who a sell juice cannot go in the market,” she said.

She further raised the importance of providing more security in the area, noting that in the evenings, fights among school children would often break out.

Vaz said that as an important part of the bus park was its vendors, the committee would consider where they could be relocated to while not disrupting the flow of commuters boarding the buses and causing a sense of confusion.

“We will be having discussions with the vendors through the KSAMC [so] that there can be some designated areas where persons can vend in an orderly fashion, and, of course, commuters can get the necessary items that they require to buy while waiting on their buses,” he said.

For Kevon Samon, he noted that while the upgrading of the space was a good idea, officials needed to consider not wanting to create reasons for persons to gather unnecessarily and become targets for criminals.

“I think you have to put in more security measures like more plainclothes police or something to ensure the safety of passengers,” he said.

Williams said the infrastructure upgrade that is expected to occur “fits neatly” into the vision of the municipality, which is seeking to enhance the general space known as Parade. He said the upgrading of Parade would result in a boost in businesses and pedestrian traffic in the space.

“We believe that any upgrade to the space here will serve best our vision ... of a destination city,” he said.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com