MONTEGO BAY, St James — For more than 20 years Gravel Lane in Montego Bay has been a pothole-riddled eyesore, an area to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Now, after a $2-million sprucing up, business operators and residents are thrilled to use the space.

The broken asphalt has now been replaced by gaily coloured brick, and the road is now reserved for pedestrian traffic only.

“Aesthetically, it is pleasing. It’s not slippery, and it can be walked and traversed without any issues,” said Ali Thelwell who sells fragrances at one end of the street.

“The greatest reaction that I’ve seen so far is that someone come around and was like, ‘Wow, Gravel Lane pretty!’ And this fellow danced right up the road — literally hopping and skipping — that was the nicest reaction I’ve seen thus far,” Thelwell told the Jamaica Observer during a recent visit.

Nadine Downie, who is in the health and wellness business, is looking forward to the difference the facelift will bring.

“It will impact my business a whole lot because you have more persons walking through here now. They will see the sign now and they will come in and ask questions about our products,” she told the Observer.

“It was in a state for more than 20 years and now it looks much better, and the people are loving it,” Downie added.

She is particularly pleased about the colour of the brick , which is similar to the palette of her business as well as others on the lane.

“It just fall in with the colour of the building. It’s just unique and just goes with everything — everybody is talking about it,” gushed Downie.

For clothes vendor Melva the best thing about the changes is that there will be no more vehicular traffic.

“I’m really glad that no cars are driving up here again because every time they made a fuss out on the road, [both the] cars coming down, cars going up. I’m just glad that they have taken the traffic off it,” she said.

She, too, is looking forward to a boom in business as a result of the transformation.

“In Christmas I didn’t get much because [of] how the road was during the work. Most persons don’t know that it is now fixed so I am now hoping for the coming year [that] things will improve,” Melva stated.

The work done to transform the area appears to be a hit with potential customers as well. Some of them could be heard commenting on how much the lane has improved.

The work was spearheaded by Councillor Richard Vernon (Jamaica Labour Party, Montego Bay South Division) who has indicated that there is more to come.

“We’re not going to stop at the pavers, we are partnering with the business operators and proprietors within that space to do murals along the walls,” Vernon told the Observer.

“We will be seeking to provide proper lighting (using solar) within that area so that it can be properly lit during the nights,” he added.

Vernon said the work being done is part of a larger plan to develop the western city. His division, he said, will be doing its bit to contribute.

“Gravel Lane is the tip of the iceberg. We have many other areas that we are going to do, reimagine, and restructure to match what you are seeing at Gravel Lane,” he explained.

“We are looking at lower Market Street, we are looking at lower Lawrence Lance, we looking at Long Lane, and several other old streets and lanes within the city of Montego Bay,” Vernon added.

The expectation is that the improvements will contribute to more individuals moving through the space.

“Importantly, it is to give an uplifted look to the space and invite our visitors to walk through and take a picture. They are in the city of Montego Bay, they are downtown. ‘Welcome to Montego Bay,’ that is what we are going for,” he said.