Government Announces Plans for Improving Infrastructure in St Joseph, Including New Bus Fleet and Skills Training Opportunities

Government is on the job when it comes to long-standing complaints from residents of St Joseph on fixing roads, bridges, providing regular bus service and other matters.

That’s the word from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley who also announced on Tuesday night that an agreement with China for 100 buses is expected to ease commuters’ problems with public transportation.

Speaking during the St Joseph Speaks town hall meeting at the Grantley Adams Memorial Secondary School in Blackmans, Mottley said 50 of the buses would be long and the other 50 smaller buses.

“We are working with the Transport Authority to put more buses on the route,” she added. “We are waiting on the buses as well …” She anticipated that the fleet of buses would be expanded by early next year.

At the same time the Prime Minister reiterated an appeal for Barbadians to come forward for skills training in construction and related areas to meet a major gap in the availability of workers.

At the town hall meeting, there were persistent concerns from residents, including Delores Thompson, Decourcey Holder, Patricia Phillips and Marilyn Cooke that some of the complaints raised a year ago have not been addressed.

Residents lamented the irregularity of the bus service, the conditions of roads and the need for sporting and community facilities. Thompson also wanted to know what was happening with repairing the Melvin Hill Bridge, which she said was a safety hazard and needed columns replaced.

“We want to know when we gun get roads in St Joseph fixed,” Holder said. “We want to know when we gun get some good roads.”

Residents noted that water woes had been addressed and Thompson thanked Government for patching a road in her area.

Cooke engaged the Prime Minister in a lengthy discussion on residents’ concerns, in particular the fixing of roads while the delays of waiting hours for bus service were highlighted. Thompson described the hours residents of St Joseph have to wait for a government bus as “unfair”.

Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw said the Scotland District Rehabilitation Project has challenges due to the nature of the soil and the need to have design work undertaken. Bradshaw indicated that soil testing was required and Government wanted the roads and bridges to be constructed properly and avoid recurring issues.

Prime Minister Mottley assured residents Government was on the job but needed to balance the priorities of St Joseph with other parishes.