Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore yesterday called for a halt to parapet works in Queenstown, saying the government should have consulted residents and City Hall before crews began digging up grassed verges and removing kerbs.
In an interview with Kiskadee Watch, Mentore, who is from Lamaha Gardens, said he first spoke out about two weeks ago after the government began excavating parapets and removing kerbs. He said he had been trying to arrange a meeting on the issue after residents petitioned the Ministry of Public Works.
Mentore said the government’s authority over public road reserves did not take away residents’ right to be heard about changes to their neighbourhoods. He described proceeding without consulting residents or the council as a violation of those rights and said he had a duty as mayor to represent residents on the matter. He had also called for consultation at the council’s October 26 statutory meeting.
The mayor said his objections concerned how the work was being carried out under the Healthy Streets initiative. He said he could understand work to reinforce canal banks and parapets but described excavating grassed verges to lay brick and crusher run as poorly thought out. He questioned who would maintain the shoulders once grass began growing through the stone.
“The grass gon come through the crusher run. Who weeding it?” he asked.
Mentore said the grassed verges, kerbs and rows of trees helped give Georgetown its identity as the Garden City. He pointed to North Road, South Road and Croal Street and warned that digging around trees could leave them vulnerable to falling.
He also questioned how removing grassed verges squared with President Irfaan Ali’s recognition as a champion of biodiversity. Mentore said the verges supported ants, moths and grasshoppers, all of which formed part of the city’s ecology. He said Georgetown should be planting more grass and trees as part of its response to climate change.
Mentore also said the Brazilian Embassy had spoken on the issue. He said attorneys had already written about the works and raised the possibility of a class action suit.
His comments came a day after crews dug up grassed parapets and laid sand in Queenstown. Resident Khadidja Bâ told Kiskadee Watch that schoolchildren, older residents and people walking their dogs used the verges. She questioned whether removing the grass would make the area hotter and affect drainage in a neighbourhood that had already experienced flooding. She also said crews had begun work on Oronoque Street, which she said was outside the scope of the notice residents received.
The Ministry of Public Works called contractors carrying out road shoulder and alleyway works to an urgent meeting at the Umana Yana on Thursday afternoon. In a separate statement explaining the programme, the ministry said compacted crusher run or similar stone would provide a firmer surface for parking where suitable. It said reshaping raised verges would help rainwater reach roadside drains and that the finished surface would remain granular so water could filter through. The statement did not specify which Queenstown streets were covered or address Bâ’s concern about Oronoque Street.
In their October 18 petition, Lamaha Gardens residents asked Public Works Minister Juan Edghill to suspend proposed works on Duncan Street between the Eastern Highway and Bel Air Road pending consultation and an independent review of the drainage, environmental and safety implications. Ministry officials subsequently said the parapets formed part of public road reserves and contractors were expected to explain the works to residents before starting. They said the ministry could proceed without residents’ permission.
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