Is Jamaica losing its sense of aesthetics?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Is Jamaica fast losing its sense of aesthetics? The city of Kingston and many other urban locations are becoming eyesores. The central Half-Way Tree intersection is a proof of point. As Hope Road empties before the clock to the left is a set of stalls that defies description. A few years ago, Digicel provided some lovely, covered areas for the vendors in this area. These stalls are now dilapidated and torn. Who was in charge of maintenance and monitoring; the vendors, Digicel or Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC)? Is no one ashamed more so that this area is posted globally on live cam 24/7.

Stalls used for street markets have always been an issue in the Jamaican commercial landscape. There was a time when Constant Spring Road in front of the main plaza zone (Mall, Tropical,Village and Premier Plazas) was littered with a hodgepodge of stalls. These were successfully removed and an outcome of this was the building of the arcade on Constant Spring Road. The informal traders were successfully rehoused. Since the matter of street vending is engrained in our commercial culture, it is clear that policymakers have to accommodate solutions that are sensitive, accommodating and appealing to the eye. Along with that, we must retrain the values of our people along the lines of maintenance and standards.

We cannot blame it all on the government. There are shopping plazas and other privately owned businesses and their road-facing walls, including their entrances and exits, are distastefully grimy.

Both the governing authorities and people of this nation need to redevelop a good sense of public aesthetics; after all, Jamaica is an international brand.

CONCERNED