Placecheck Findings of Port-of-Spain's CBD and Belmont, Trinidad

Placecheck Findings of Port-of-Spain’s Central Business District (CBD)

What do I like? What needs protecting? What would I like more of?

When one stands on the Brian Lara Promenade which runs from east to west along the CBD, one can appreciate the diverse culture and ethnicity of Trinidad and Tobago. People of all ages and walks of life can sit on the benches provided just to enjoy the inner city ambience and people passing quickly by.

The Brian Lara Promenade

                                        

Social interaction is also encouraged at the Brian Lara Promenade as seen by the checkers board painted unto the tables.

The checkers board painted on the table at the Promenade

As one walks through the heart of the city, a vibrant, flourishing retail and commercial hub invades your space. Charlotte Street, Henry Street and Fredrick Street are flooded with street vendors and stores which all provide a range of goods to supply the local market such as textile, shoes, jewelry, clothes, fruits and vegetables, grocery items, art and craft etc.

Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain

 

Typical of a CBD, many multifunctional buildings are seen which not only house stores but also government, law and business offices. Most of the malls such as Bradford City, Uptown and Arlene’s to name a few promote pedestrian traffic by being walk-through in design. This compliments the design of the CBD which encourages pedestrian traffic. The green areas in the CBD such as Woodford Square visually enhance the appearance of the city and certainly needs protecting in the short, medium and long-term. When a passerby was asked what he appreciates most about the city, he responded, “I think Port-of-Spain is a beautiful city and I love sitting here and observing.” Maintenance workers were seen cleaning Woodford Square; however in the long-term perhaps a green policy can be implemented to further protect these areas.

Woodford Square

                                    

What don’t I like? What needs changing now? What is getting worse?

Two chronic issues in the CBD appear to be inadequate accommodation for homeless people and street vendors. Many homeless people are scattered about the Brian Lara Promenade and their trolleys are stored there as well. High stench of urine at trees and toilet paper is also seen which indicates that there isn’t facilities for them to use or to stay in the city.

Issues with homeless people on the Promenade

                              

Also, street vendors have invaded the streets causing further congestion for motor vehicles. Perhaps, a specific area(s) can be designated for these vendors. Another issue observed is that while the short blocks, grid-like system and walk-through malls encourage pedestrian traffic not enough is done to facilitate them. The pavements are high in some areas, manholes are damaged and uncovered and there are no pedestrian crossing areas at most intersections. Pavements need to be made and maintained in such a way where disabled and elderly people can commute comfortably. Pedestrian crossings must be placed at most intersections to promote safe and easy crossing at least in the short-term.

No pedestrian crossing facilities at busy corners

What needs to be improved?

In the short-term, parking facilities need to be improved both in appearance and number. There is insufficient parking for the number of cars entering the city and many people resort to double parking on the roads, creating more traffic. Perhaps multi-storey parking lots can be built in the short and medium-term. Some empty lots of land in the CBD are used as public car parks but most of them are very old and unkempt. A passer-by who commutes every day to and from Port-of-Spain was asked what he dislikes the most. He indicated that transport within the city is not efficient enough and he thinks that a shuttle service should be put in place. This can be a medium-long term solution. However, certainly I think that a future goal of this city should be to restrict motor vehicular traffic within the city and put in place more pedestrian friendly infrastructure, bicycle rentals and an efficient shuttle service.

Placecheck Findings of Port-of-Spain’s first Suburb, Belmont

What do I like? What needs protecting? What would I like more of?

Belmont or Freetown as the slaves called it is oozing with history and culture of freed slaves since 1834 and even before. According to Scantlebury (2014), slaves gathered in sheds of Belmont and played the instruments to ease their pain. These sheds are still part of the architecture of Belmont and exist as mas camps where Carnival bands, costumes, jab jab, robber mas and jouvert originate in this ‘Mas Capital’ of Trinidad.

Glendon Morris Copper Works & Mas Camp

 

The promotion of arts has therefore been priority as also indicated by the location of Trinidad Theatre Arts here.

Trinidad Theatre Workshop

In this suburb of Port-of-Spain, low income housing intermingles with high income housing side by side which indicates that people of different class and standard of living exist within the same space of Belmont. Government services such as maintenance (CEPEP) spills over from Port-of-Spain so the people of this area benefits from this. The old architecture showcasing the heritage of Belmont needs to be preserved and maintained for both short and long-term timeframes. A museum can also be erected showcasing artifacts to further highlight the culture and history of the area. These measures will benefit tourism in the future.

What don’t I like? What needs changing now? What is getting worse?

The high level of land pollution is an eye sore in Belmont. Perhaps youth projects can be developed to create awareness of the problem and to clean up the area of excessive garbage.

Issue of littering in Belmont

 

The roads of Belmont are very narrow and this makes driving a bit difficult in this area. The government should therefore widen the roads as a long term project or promote cycling and shuttle services in the area. There are also many dilapidated, abandoned houses which have been left by failed businesses and family conflicts for land. This is not visually appealing to this area.

One of many dilapidated buildings

What needs to be improved?

The area of Belmont needs open public spaces such as parks and savannahs to encourage integration among the youths. This was a concern of one resident since they have to share the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain with other surrounding areas. Security appears to be a serious issue as seen by the barbed wire, high walls of the Belmont Boys Secondary School.

Secondary School with high, barbed wire walls

Perhaps, this community can establish a neighbourhood watch and patrol to aid as a crime deterrent. Youth empowerment through projects and public spaces will also help the crime situation in future. Street signs need to be redone since most of them are either very old or turned the wrong way. Pedestrian crossing has to be made a priority since no provisions of this nature were observed.

Assessing the CBD of Port-of-Spain and Belmont according to Jane Jacobs’ principles of Good Neighbourhoods

Both areas prove to be good neighbourhoods when Jane Jacobs’ principles are applied. The CBD fulfills all the criteria of being multi-functional (commercial, retail, recreational, residential), mixed blocks with different buildings of different ages and conditions (old churches and buildings alongside modern, majestic structures), having streets with short blocks and numerous streets and having a dense concentration of people of various ages occupying the space for different purposes. Belmont fulfills these criteria also, but it is characterized as more of a residential area with commercial activity in the form of small businesses scattered between houses. There is a dense concentration of people living in the area as seen by the nucleated settlement pattern, however not much pedestrian traffic is observed. Therefore, Jane Jacobs’ principles define both areas as good neighbourhoods in different ways. While her principles prove to be mostly successful in highlighting good neighbourhoods, they do not take into account security and pollution which seem to be major issues in Belmont in particular.

What makes a successful CBD?

In my opinion, Port-of-Spain is a successfully functioning CBD where it is a commercial and retail hub and also provides a recreational environment for commuters as seen at the Brian Lara Promenade and Woodford Square, among others. Government buildings such as the twin towers and parliament are also prominent which shows that the government has a strong base and provides numerous services in the capital. Its design promotes pedestrian traffic and walking from one street to the other can be done with ease by the numerous connected streets and blocks and walk-through malls. However, the needs of the public such as proper vending areas, pavements catering for elderly and disabled people and facilities for homeless people need to be addressed to make Port-of-Spain an even more efficient CBD.