Now that there is a call for the marking of the old train line, I thought it appropriate to propose an idea of streetcars that would greatly enhance the mass transit of passengers across Barbados.
At some point, the next elected Government should be able to stabilise the economy to such a place where growth can take place. When that time comes, a range of ideas will be put forward that reflect varying degrees of interest.
My proposal links Grantley Adams International Airport in the South to a new city centre at Pickering, St Lucy. It calls for a redesign of the foyer at the airport to allow the streetcar to pick up and set down passengers at the arrival and departure halls.
The streetcar leaves the airport and heads east through Oldbury into Six Roads. Turn west past Carrington, where you can develop some industry. It travels down the St George valley to Bulkeley, where you can site the railyard and develop industry. From Bulkeley it goes through Haggatt Hall and onto the ABC Highway at the Norman Niles Roundabout and north to Warrens. From Warrens it travels along the Ronald Mapp Highway through St James, St Peter into St Lucy.
I am not proposing that any government seek to finance this project, merely facilitate the actualisation of this private sector initiative. A project such as this is tremendously costly but the benefits are stunning. New businesses spring us all along the line, new jobs will be created by the management company and the aesthetics breathe new life into an otherwise monotonous way of travel.
– JOSEPH SCOTT