Complaints and suggestions have poured inﾠabout what should be done about the Montague ramp, but one Independent Member of Parliament is ﾠlobbying for the makeshift marketplace to be transformed into a well-designed attraction for both tourists and locals.
These complaints and suggestions came exclusively fromﾠtheﾠBahamasB2B website, which has a specific page ﾠdedicated to theﾠreconstruction of the Montaque Ramp.
No stranger to the heavily congested and foul smelling area, St. Margaret MP Pierre Dupuch told the Bahama Journal Monday that the response from the Montagu Ramp feedback web page has been very good with Bahamians voicing a litany of problems as well as possible suggestions to improving the area.
Mr. Dupuch serves as Chairman of a select Committee appointed in May to investigate the traffic, environmental and economic problems associated with the ramp and to recommend solutions to the government.
Other Committee members are Montague MP Brent Symonette; St Thomas More MP Frank Smith; Carmichael MP John Carey and Cat Island, San Salvador and Rum Cay MP Philip ”Brave” Davis.
According to Mr. Dupuch, chief among the list of complaints is the 5pm traffic jam on East Bay Street that is exacerbated by jet ski operators hoping to squeeze into the main thoroughfare.
”One person has indicated that he has found nothing wrong with all this, but there are even some fish vendors who have also told us that they’re bothered by the traffic jams.” Mr. Dupuch said.
As mentioned, there have also been proposals for improving the area.
”There’s been the suggestion that we close it all down, which of course is not acceptable,” Mr. Dupuch said.
The Committee Chairman is not alone in his views to keep the area open to the public.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Alfred Gray has pointed out that plans to move the fish vendors to Arawak Cay or Potterﾴs Cay are not being considered.
Mr. Dupuch wants the ramp to be converted into a shopping area, a place he said were persons can pull their vehicles off the road, purchase fish, play a game of dominoes and enjoy the delicacies of one or two restaurants.
The Committee is expected to meet for the first time next week Thursday.
”We’re hoping to go into all this in very minute detail and come up with some amazing things, but it can’t happen yesterday,” Mr. Dupuch. ”The Montague ramp was built over 50 years ago.”
Source: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
