‘Fix the road as well’ – Taxi operator pleads for Fort Charlotte road repairs

Tour operators are questioning if Fort Charlotte will, for another season, be scratched from the list of tourist attractions as the site remains under construction.

In addition to the readiness of the site, the government is also being urged, yet again, to fix the Edinboro road leading to Fort Charlotte as it has, over the years, become a headache for persons travelling to the heritage site.

Member of the SVG Professionals Taxi Association, Alden Bess, speaking at a September 25, 2024 press conference to officially welcome Jet Blue airlines to St Vincent and the Grenadines, raised the vexing issues of the “bad roads” in Edinboro and the Montreal Gardens to the Minister of Tourism, Carlos James.

“As a taxi driver, when somebody hire your taxi to take them, what should only take you 10 minutes sometimes it take up to 20 to 25 minutes to get up there because the road is so bad.”

Bess said that visits to Fort Charlotte used to be a weekly undertaking for him, and while he was pleased to see construction work, he is concerned that the work came to a halt.

“I feel so good when I see those tractors, then when I looked back everything stopped.”

The restoration work at Fort Charlotte is being done under a World Bank funded project to the tune of $2 million and began in 2022. Last year taxi operators raised concerns with the Minister of Tourism about the unavailability of the site. At the time Minister James said the restoration work does not fall under the purview of the Ministry of Tourism.

At the press conference on Wednesday, Minister James explained that the conditions of the Edinboro road, as well as the roads to other tourist sites fall under the Ministry of Transport and Works.

“Unfortunately I don’t have the answer for when the roads are going to be completed as it is not within the Ministry of Tourism, but I am hoping that we can get some significant work done in time for the season. I know that the Ministry of Transport and Works- they are working closely with the contractors to push on them to have the work completed.”

Back in 2022, residents in Layou raised concerns about the deplorable condition of the road leading to the Petroglyph Park, blaming this for significant declines in tourist revenue.