TRANSPORT Minister Daryl Vaz has proposed a new urban centre as part of repurposing of the space known as the People’s Arcade in downtown Montego Bay, St James.

This came after Vaz toured the area with a number of stakeholders last Thursday afternoon.

According to Vaz, the area was being underutilised in terms of productivity and that it is in need of urgent planning and development.

“Similar to what the Government has done in Morant Bay [St Thomas] and recently in Portland in terms of a urban centre, we need to develop a plan that takes into consideration what obtains now and what are the issues that are faced in Montego Bay with the congestion and all that goes with it because this is in the heart of Montego Bay,” he told reporters following the tour.

He argued that the development could be funded through stakeholder involvement.

“In Portland we have done the Boundbrook Urban Centre and the concept for that is a public-private partnership (PPP) to be used to create a useful space for the commuters, for the citizens, for the business people and most importantly, to create employment. As it stands now, this 15 acres, plus two and a half acres, which is the transport centre, is a natural fit in terms of a public-private partnership,” added Vaz.

The People’s Arcade in Montego Bay was initially developed as a commercial area that provided micro and small business operators with the opportunity to carry out their activities.

However, over time that has changed with reports that a number of people are squatting on the property and using the area for unsavoury activities.

Head of the St James Police Division Superintendent Eron Samuels said he was pleased with the proposal to develop the area given that it has become a security problem.

“It is with great delight that we are hearing of the changes that are going to be made with this space. I believe it will only seek to help us to make good on the gains that we have already made in our quest to reduce crime and this will definitely change the landscape of St James and we are happy and we will be supporting it 100 per cent,” said Samuels as he sought to highlight some of the challenges being faced by the security forces in relation to that area.

“The People’s Arcade here has posed a security concern here to the police over the years and what we find here is that we have persons who are migrating from other parishes.

“They have taken up residence in unoccupied shops, we have prostitution, drug peddling, we have even gun play that has occurred here. We have cases of murders, shootings and we have seized firearms in several operations that we have conducted here,” added Samuels.

Vaz said he has taken note of the concerns expressed by the divisional commander and would be looking to have the space quantified before anything is done.

“I have taken his concern in hand and basically what I’ve asked to be done is an audit of all the structures that are in here that are the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC) land. The status in relation to the tenure of the structures, a valuation of the structures because that will come into play. We may need to get the National Land Agency involved,” said Vaz.

He indicated that based on discussions, the Government would also be looking at expanding the nearby transportation centre to accommodate more vehicles.

In the meantime Mayor of Montego Bay Richard Vernon welcomed the move as he argued that despite the ongoing development of the perimeter road, other strategies are needed to deal with the traffic issues in the town.

“The perimeter road is here, it will not solve all the problems, it will solve some of the problems. So we have to ensure at the lower section, in the downtown area, people can move freely because quick and efficient movement means more opportunities for local economic growth,” said the mayor.