Transportation

Editor: Adequate transportation is one of the engines of our economy. Movement by land, sea, and air helps us get from one place to another and facilitates commerce.

Our road network must be in good repair and new roads must be built where they are needed. Farmers need feeder roads to get their produce to the market. Locals and tourists need to get to the recreation sites. People do not want to spend their valuable time in traffic. Workers and patrons of businesses need assurance that they will get to their destination and return home safely. Our roads must take us where we want to go with minimal hindrance.

The Southern Grenadines needs to be better connected to Kingstown. One solution is for the boats to leave early enough to arrive by 9:30 am and leave Kingstown at 2:00 pm. This would give sufficient time to attend meetings, visit the doctor, and conduct business. The boat schedule should also articulate with flight schedule at AIA. Locals and tourists coming from Kingstown should be able to come in the morning and spend 5 hours before returning home. Whenever there are international matches or special events, there should be a convenient schedule of boats to accommodate patrons from the Southern Grenadines.

The AIA whose feasibility study was done by one government and built by another, needs to fulfil its role of getting travellers in and out of the country with the least hassle. Additionally, the flight schedule needs to articulate with that of the boats and planes that ply the Grenadines. There needs to be scheduled flights to the Southern Grenadines. Merely getting a seat on a chartered flight will not do. Residents should be able to fly to Kingstown in the morning and return in the afternoon.

When transportation becomes seamless, we can focus on the business at hand or relax at one of our recreational sites.

Anthony G. Stewart, PhD