Dear Editor,
A recent headline in your daily newspaper “Upgrades to Red Road and Dump Site Road” caught my attention because it highlighted a very important issue – the naming of roads and highways in Guyana. There has been a proliferation of housing schemes and the construction of new roads across the country, but the pace of these developments outweighs the importance of having names assigned to these thoroughfares by those in authority. When the “Heroes Highway” was commissioned, I was hoping that it would have been the beginning of a programme to have our roads properly identified, but that does not seem to be the case.
There is no urgency by the Ministry of Public Works. Residents try to improvise in whatever way possible to give directions to taxis, delivery vehicles and visitors but it is a tedious task and time consuming. While street naming may seem insignificant, it is a critical component of urban development especially with the initiation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the influx of foreigners to our shores. I had a recent experience giving directions to the Guyana Fire Service during an emergency where I live in Providence, East Bank Demerara the streets are not named. The fire truck was unable to locate the fire because there was no street name or critical landmark in the area. Luckily the fire was brought under control due to the kind assistance of neighbours by the time the fire truck was redirected to the incident.
The stretch of highway between South Ruimveldt round-about and Heroes Highway is another case in point as well as the famous Red and Dumpsite roads. How much longer must we wait for the proper naming of these roadway “Red or Massy Road and Dump Road are being developed into four-lane highways will these names remain? The recent passing of Guyanese music icon Dave Martins whose famous song “Not a Blade of Grass” has left a legacy. Now should be the ideal time to have his name inscribed to one of our national roadways. There are many more iconic figures still alive that as a nation we can honour while they are still alive, and these new roadways can be a starting point.
Sincerely,
T.H. Peters
