LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Is there no balm in Gilead?

A response to Dennis Morrison's article on Sustaining MoBay's Tourism.

Dear Editor,

I am a consistent reader of Dennis Morrison's column and I am impressed with his objectivity and analytic approach to the various topics.

I have been watching Jamaican tourism as a consumer for several years and I am disappointed that we have not seized all the opportunities that exist to make the product as vibrant as it could be, even without going to the extent of developing a casino-based culture to paper over the deficiencies.

We have sought to isolate our tourists from "the ordinary Jamaican", by various devices, without realising that it is our uniqueness and quirkiness that make us so distinctive as a culture and as a people. (Of course, we have too many bad eggs, we are too violent, we have too many willing to do anything for a money; but with good management, our negatives can be suppressed or controlled to make Montego Bay a liveable city for its inhabitants and pari passu tourists.)

In this vein, I have often wondered why Montego Bay has been allowed to fall under the spell of the motor car. In my opinion, the motor car, and the first-generation drivers, is what has prevented Montego Bay from realising its full potential as a so-called tourist Mecca. The fools arrange the geography of the city for the convenience of their cars, SUV's and taxis. But, imagine a pedestrian-only Hip Strip!

imagine the change

Imagine small tractor-driven shuttle trains, which they have in Niagara or Marseilles, running back and forth transporting tourists and locals along the waterfront, with no cars along Gloucester Avenue.

Imagine them battery-driven ,charged by solar cells. Imagine allowing only approved pushcart mobile stands like the beautiful ones they have in Venice. Imagine cobble stoned side streets and proper drainage. Imagine this, with our ordinary flowering plants like hibiscus, allamanda, bougainvillaea, oleander, Poinciana, Barbados Pride, Ixora, poor man's orchid, etc, providing colourful background, we would have a tropical garden without a rival in the Caribbean.

We have been infected with the virus of the Topsy syndrome in our cities and towns, and we have not sought to create our own civic personalities and define ourselves to suit our own cultivated tastes.

so ashamed

A Montego Bay bypass would have been a better idea than a Falmouth bypass, if one factored that into the cost of the North Coast Highway.

I have had the pleasure of visiting quite a few towns and cities in a few countries. Those that are most successful as cities, are those that have carved out a distinctive space that defines them and their inhabitants. Most successful cities, if not all, have pedestrian-only areas, lively downtown, clean surroundings, for the benefit of the local people. They all live with tourism, all seem prosperous, some are safer than others, but, they all look good. Frankly, walking around Montego Bay, makes me feel ashamed.

Is there no balm in Gilead?

I am. etc.,

saturn1@cwjamaica.com