The embankment along Lamaha Street, part of what used to be the East Coast Railway, has been rebooted as the ‘Lamaha corridor’. It has undergone significant transformations over the years, most notably losing most of its green to concrete and asphalt to facilitate parking. At present, it is being rejigged as a family-friendly, urban, recreational space by the Ministry of Public Works as per the vision of President Irfaan Ali, a project which started in 2021.
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill told the National Assembly recently, in response to a question from APNU MP David Patterson just prior to the passing of the 2023 budget, that the old Georgetown train station will be rehabilitated and converted into a prime tourist attraction but maintaining its ancient aesthetic. Previously, while providing details about the modification being done, he had enthused that once developed, the “safe space” would allow people to “exercise, relax and engage in recreational activities”. Revealing that the area would have benches, water fountains and a green space, he had also indicated that the site of the former train station was earmarked for an art gallery and a food court. Questioned about the cost of the project, the minister had intimated last year that it was public/private, stating that the labour was being provided by the staff at his ministry and the private sector was supplying materials.
Taken in isolation, the so-called beautification of the Lamaha embankment is a good concept. However, the more one looks at the city as a whole, one cannot help but wonder if in fact that is the best use of the site. Certainly the area will benefit from cleanliness and order, but does Georgetown really need another promenade? It does not.
The ones currently available to citizens are either underused or misused. Let’s start with the seawall. By far, the most perfect place to exercise, relax and engage in recreational activities, it has morphed into an untidy weekend hangout spot where people go to play loud music, drink alcohol, eat and abandon their litter.
Residents of Kitty, Subryanville and Bel-Air, who are closest to the seawall, have complained about the noise nuisance ad nauseam, to no avail. Families who hope to relax there can no longer do so peacefully; the bacchanal starts as early as 6 pm on Sundays. A few years ago, a family was almost attacked by rats at the Kitty seawall. As reported in a letter to this newspaper in 2019, further investigation revealed a massive infestation of rats along this promenade.
Lest we forget, extensive work was carried out at the bandstand and surrounding area in Kingston in 2020/2021. As part of First Lady Arya Ali’s National Beautification Project that area was transformed to include reinforced concrete drains to expand the land space for the construction of some 25 food kiosks and a boardwalk was also constructed. The initial cost for this work was said to be $5 million. Furthermore, last year, an elevated platform was built at the Kitty seawall for live performances at the Cricket Carnival Road March in October.
Then there’s the National Park, also great for exercising and family time. This park was earmarked for rehabilitation last year, along with the Botanic Gardens. Parts of the latter have for decades been a veritable jungle, both inaccessible for promenading and extremely unsafe.
The Main Street Avenue has been spruced up. However, at present there’s noisy revelry there on Friday evenings, complete with the sale of food and alcohol, ostensibly to promote tourism. There’s every likelihood then that the Lamaha corridor will follow this pattern, if not as soon as it opens, then not long after, bearing absolutely no resemblance to its origins.
That old Georgetown train station was the cradle of the first railway in South America. It began with a train service between Georgetown and Plaisance in 1848, and was extended to other villages in stages as tracks were built, eventually ending at Rosignol by 1900. Before the service was completely discontinued in 1972, trains had been safely taking people, including school children, and produce, to and from the capital for some 124 years.
In the years following, the section from Sheriff Street to Enmore was transitioned to the Railway Embankment Road in order to ease traffic congestion on the East Coast Demerara roadway. The length running through the city was over time inhabited by squatters, many of whom planted lush kitchen gardens and sold their produce as a means of livelihood. They had been involved in standoffs with the authorities over the years as their presence made cleaning the Lamaha Street canal, difficult, though not impossible.
In the early 2000s, the government announced plans to run high-voltage power lines along the railway embankment and thus began the objective to finally remove the squatters. The last of them left in 2009 after that project was completed. A few years later, plans were announced to build a parking lot on a section of the embankment to facilitate staff and visitors to the Guyana Revenue Authority as its presence in Camp Street had resulted in epic traffic snarls. Parking lots were eventually installed to accommodate businesses in the area.
It seems the Lamaha corridor will soon see dual use – parking and entertainment. Thankfully, there are no other green areas left to benefit from this concrete and asphalt beautification spree. If proper thought was given to it, the Lamaha embankment could have been maintained as wholly green. It would have been, for example, an excellent location for shade houses and could have been used to involve more urban youth in agriculture. Many modern cities are today encouraging the planting of food, even using roof gardens where ground space is not available. We seem bent on doing the reverse.
