Monday, January 01, 2007Road Town - Then and Now

Nina O'NealThe Capital takes on a fresh new look as it readies for world-class business

Road Town is situated in the mouth of a natural harbour, it is in the middle of the largest of the islands making up the grouping, it opens into the natural channel between the islands and it sits nestled under the Territory’s highest mountain. Given all these attributes it seemed only sensible to the early European settlers that the capital be removed from Spanish Town to Road Town and 300 years ago that is exactly what happened. The seat of what little government there was in those days was moved over from Virgin Gorda to Tortola and has remained there ever since.

But for a long time after the move from Virgin Gorda, the capital was little more than a narrow, single dirt street, the Main Street, lined with quaint houses and a smattering of government buildings, such as the jail and the infirmary. It probably took all of five minutes to ride from one end of the Town to the other.

Eventually, as the population grew, the churches moved in, more planters built their homes and offices along Main Street, more merchants set up shop. Essentially, however, Road Town stayed pretty much as it was for at least a couple centuries. Then, in the early 1920s under Commissioner Peebles, there was a burst of activity in which could be discerned the beginnings of a “town” feeling. A marketplace was laid out in the area now known as the Sir Olva Georges Plaza. Kerosene street lamps were put up along the main road. A cricket field and racecourse were created on a five-acre recreation ground with a nearby bandstand. And, of course, this was around the time that the Territory got its first hospital.

At the time, the boundaries of Road Town were said to extend from around the Methodist Cemetery in upper Road Town to Government House. Then, for a long time after Peebles’ departure, little changed and Road Town again stood still for the most part, a fact that wasn’t lost on Virgin Islanders who had nearby St. Thomas to compare Tortola with. Political agitation for social and economic advancement saw the re-introduction of representative government in 1950 and the politicians began to shake things up.

To spur investment, they made it easier for non-locals to buy land and to open hotels while improving the infrastructure. It was in the early 1960s that the Joe’s Hill and West End roads were built, making it easier to get in and out of Town. At the same time, the government helped people to obtain their share of the rock by making residential lots available for purchase in Lower Estate and MacNamara. These and other initiatives spurred greater and greater economic activity. By 1968, the local telephone directory reveals the existence of several car rentals; hotels and general merchandise stores in and around Road Town.

But one can argue that it was the reclamation of Wickham’s Cay in the 1960s that put the final seal on the emergence of Road Town as the Territory’s commercial and cultural heart. The reclamation added more than 70 acres of land to Road Town, counting Wickham’s Cay One and Two. Occurring as it did at a time of economic growth and coinciding with both the establishment of the ministerial system and our emergence as a tourist destination, the potential and possibilities of the expanded Town seemed boundless.

The 1972 Development Plan for Wickham’s Cay spoke of marinas, pedestrian malls, intimate public parks and the challenges population growth would pose on infrastructure. While some of those came to pass and others did not, or not as originally envisioned, the boom on Wickham’s Cay had an important and enlivening effect on the rest of Road Town. New businesses moved into the capital. More amenities, more roads, and more parking areas, were built to accommodate the influx.

But, for all the activity, certain details went unattended. The new roads didn’t have proper sidewalks. Landscaping opportunities went ignored. Traffic jams began to make driving at certain hours a nightmare. There were few public spaces where one could just sit and watch the world go by. Historical and cultural attractions were given little attention.

Complaints about Road Town by both visitors and residents began to mount. Guidebooks on the Territory advised readers that they wouldn’t miss much if they bypassed the capital altogether. Yet this was the capital of the Virgin Islands. Many of the proudest moments in the history of our people happened in Road Towns’ streets and open areas. Our capital was supposed to be a source of pride for Virgin Islanders, not someplace we dreaded entering on a day-to-day basis.
Alarmed at the situation, government launched an initiative three years ago to change things around for the capital.

Since 2003, work on improving Road Town’s ambience has picked up pace. The Walter Francis Highway now sports a colourful median with bougainvillea and palm plantings while Waterfront Drive has been transformed with vibrant ixoras and more palms. New sidewalks on De Castro Drive, Fishlock Road and on Waterfront Drive have made navigating those streets easier for pedestrians as have the painted guides on the roads by the Road Town Roundabout and the entrance to Fishlock Road.

Work has also begun on the establishment of a park in the Palm Grove that will become one of the premier green spaces in the capital. It will feature a pathway of pavers flowing from four entry points straight across the park to join with a perimeter walkway. A gazebo in one corner, two pergolas and other seating areas are also planned for the perimeter while the central area will be left clear to allow the traditional activities that take place in the area to continue. A drinking fountain and a birdbath are additional features.

At the same time, work on the new and improved Queen Elizabeth II Park should begin in February. A jogger’s trail, seating areas, and bigger and better plantings will all contribute to restoring the beauty and attractiveness of what has been one of the capital’s, no, the Territory’s, shining gems.

Government’s dedication to a cleaner, greener, more beautiful Road Town means that our capital can look forward to a bright future. Certainly, that will be the end result of the Road Town Physical Improvement Programme launched earlier this year to pull together all of the government’s plans for the Town and re-focus development efforts. Since then, several meetings have been held with community residents in Road Town’s various neighbourhoods to determine needs and priorities. Already, the meetings are bearing fruit in the early beginnings of a Main Street Association that will energize the historic centre of our capital. Soon, we should hear more from that group, composed of business owners, property owners and residents about their vision for the Street and their goals and objectives for realizing that vision. Another group, this time of Free Bottom residents is receiving the encouragement it needs to get itself off the ground and partner with government in addressing the needs of that community. These are all encouraging signs.

The appointment of a City Manager to manage and supervise developments in Road Town and to promote and market the capital is vital to assuring government’s focus on the capital. Before the City Manager, there was no government department or agency dedicated solely to the interests of the capital. In fact, it was just the opposite. Government departments such as Public Works and Solid Waste, which had certain responsibilities in Road Town, also had responsibility for the rest of the Territory and had to allocate their resources accordingly. With a City Manager has come a greater focus on Road Town’s needs.

These initiatives and improvements to the capital mean that we’re moving briskly toward a bright future. However, revitalizing Road Town must mean much more than infrastructural improvements and the facilitation of new developments – it must also mean a revitalization that takes place in Virgin Islanders’ hearts, one that is felt in our bones, and which transforms the way we think about our capital.

We all have a role to play in this – in shaping the perception and experience of Road Town for each other, and ourselves as residents, as business owners, as drivers, as pedestrians, as in all the aspects in which we use Road Town. The revitalization of the capital will owe a lot to what government does and doesn’t do in Road Town but it will owe perhaps even more to what individuals and businesses and groups do or don’t do.

There is still a lot that has to happen in Road Town; we have to address parking and traffic-related problems, the sewage issue needs urgent attention, the uncovered drains are an eyesore, and the itinerant vendors are out of control but everything that government does can be undermined by, at best, the indifference of the wider community or, at worst, its outright hostility. A proposed vision for Road Town stated that “In the year 2020, Road Town will emerge as a world-class tourist, residential, commercial, and financial centre reflecting the rich human diversity with pedestrian-friendly communities and efficient transport systems, and retaining its culture and heritage while contributing to the social and economic well-being of the people of the Territory.”

If that is to be true, we have a long way still to go. Join us and the journey won’t take half as long.

Oyster Publications Inc, PO box 3369, Road Town Tortola, British Virgin Islands, VG1110