Sidewalk coming! Vendors had permission to sell

While disclosing that vendors who once operated under a tree near the Road Town round-about had permission to do business in the area, City Manager Janice Brathwaite-Edwards said the blockades placed at the location are not a result of vendor resistance.

About a dozen blockades were dropped under the big tree a day or two after the vendors were ordered to vacate the area.

As a result, some persons thought they were placed at the location to keep the vendors at bay. But Brathwaite-Edwards said that was not the case.

She stated that the blockades are a part of preparations for a ‘beautification’ project that the Ministry of Communication and Works plans to undertake ahead of the Emancipation Festival.

The city manager added that a sidewalk will be built in the big tree area. “The barricades are there because we are actually looking to put in a sidewalk in that area before festival. Workers are supposed to come out to measure and what have you. We’re going to [improve] the beautification along that area,” Brathwaite-Edwards further told BVI News Online. “That’s why the barricades are there; we’re going to be doing our measurements, etcetera. But we don’t want to have anybody obstructing.”

Vendors did not resist

The Ministry of Communication and Works, in collaboration with the Office of the City Manager, had ordered the vendors to stop selling near the round-about on Monday, July 10. However, there are reports that the vendors showed up the following day.

“The two vendors that were there [after the order] were not around during the time we had given the order,” the City Manager explained. “However, those two vendors had legal permission to operate under that tree. They had permission from the Office of the City Manager. But they, too, have also moved.”

Meanwhile, news that the sidewalk will be built comes days after Premier Dr D Orlando Smith stated in his mid-term address that plans are afoot to improve the aesthetics of the British Virgin Islands capital.

“As we work to clean up our Territory, we also intend to continue to invest in the upkeep and beautification of our capital of Road Town,” the premier said earlier this month. He added: “This city remains the gateway to our Territory and the symbol of the BVI to the world. There is much we have to be proud of in Road Town, but the appearance of the city has not kept up with its cultural, economic and social vibrance. That is why we are developing plans for further enhancements, and we will have more to report on this front in the coming months.”