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