(OBSERVER)Revellers and others who will be traversing the streets of St John’s for Carnival 2023 will at least be able to do so safety, according to Public Works Minister, Maria Browne.
The city of St John’s has been in a dilapidated state for quite some time.
But not only are some of the buildings an eyesore, but uncovered manholes and unrepaired potholes sidewalks have also posed a risk to both pedestrians and drivers.
After conducting a walk-through of the city in March this year, Browne, the Minister of Housing, Lands, Public Works and Urban Renewal, promised to upgrade the popular shopping area.
Two days ago, she said that some work has started and much more will be done ahead of the Caribbean’s greatest summer festival.
“We are going to do some more work as time approaches for the Carnival season, so we are going to be doing some resurfacing of the roads. We are going to be doing some filling in of the sidewalks where there are ditches in an effort to make it overall safe for the festival season,” she told Observer.
Meanwhile, Bowne said that “some preliminary fixing” is already being done.
“We started some preliminary fixing of St John’s albeit not fully permanent because we need to do a holistic overhaul of St John’s.
“So what we’ve started is to have some ‘low hanging fruits’ addressed in terms of the safety hazards and that sort of thing, so as you go around St John’s you will see there are some aspects that are being fixed and are being tended to,” she added.
Aside from being the home of Carnival, the majority of businesses are located in the city and is therefore a hive of activity especially on weekdays.
It is also frequented by tourists who arrive via cruise ships at the St John’s Harbour and the VC Bird International Airport.
