Port Authority addressing Grenadines Wharf congestion

A 15-minute grace period for parking, as well as the use of cart men and park-and-walk to transport luggage to the Grenadines Wharf are some of the measures being employed going forward to deal with the large volumes of traffic heading to and from the wharf in Kingstown.

Over the last two months, the wharf has seen a tremendous amount of foot and vehicular traffic due to the recovery effort after the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 1.

Inspector of Police, Port Security, Dwayne McKenzie, speaking on the Cop Chat programme on WEFM explained that the Kingstown Port is governed by the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code), which is a system used to enhance the security of ships and port facilities.

The measures being implemented are to not only reduce the volume of traffic going to the wharf, but also to guarantee that the facility falls in line with these codes.

Inspector McKenzie described Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as “problem” days when the government chartered ferries are scheduled to travel to the Southern Grenadines.

“This is when we have most of our problems, on these three days. The government has stuff to move down to the Grenadines, we have 10 trucks that have to go on the boat, and other companies delivering stuff, and other persons who are doing their contracts in the Southern Grenadines have to get stuff to come down also. Some of the problems we are having are persons with private things to go down and the amount of vehicles that will be at the Grenadines Wharf on the three days for the government charter.”

For persons travelling to the Southern Grenadines and are being dropped off, McKenzie advised that they should disembark vehicles outside of Gate 5, and walk to the Ferry Terminal.

If travelling with heavy luggage, persons are advised to make use of cart men, and for light-weight package, McKenzie said, “… walk to the wharf instead of driving. It would be easier for all of us, less vehicles travelling up and down.”

As part of the traffic decongestion measures, the Port Authority has designated 10 parking spaces at the Cruise Ship Terminal where persons can park and drop off cargo to be transported to the Southern Grenadines. The spaces will be turned over “every 15 minutes” and if a driver exceeds this time, he or she will be charged.

New procedures have also been set in place for the Gem Star Ferry and boarding has now been moved to the gate adjacent the Geest shed.

“The amount of vehicles that we can let through the lower gate to access Gem Star would have to be limited. We want to let through the bigger trucks, and we are asking persons who are travelling with luggage, get a park, get your stuff, take them to Gem Star and come back to your vehicle and then leave. It’s easier to just collect them by hand,” McKenzie said.

In addition, people ferrying vehicles to the Northern Grenadines are advised to go to the wharf between 10:15 to 10:20 a.m.