“The design is inadequate”. That was the position of District 4 candidate for the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) Ian Smith when asked for his views on the recently completed Road Town Market Square.
During a recently released episode of Just for the Record, Smith told 284 Media that the low utilisation of the facility suggests that authorities need to “look at the project and see how it can be improved and meet the needs of the farmers and other persons.”
In his own observation of the facility, a number of issues stood out to Smith.
“A few mornings ago, I watched someone offloading from 5 a.m. in the morning to make sure that their stall was stocked by a certain time… You have farmers having to go offload and pick up over 100 pounds of produce on a daily basis… The design should probably have storage space for those individuals”, he said.
“The design doesn’t allow for coverage similar to what the old market had. So you have a situation where the produce is in the sun for 7 to 8 hours a day”, he added.
Smith further expressed concern that consistent sun exposure could pose an environmental issue for some produce.
He believes that these and other issues are contributing to many vendors’ deciding not to take up shop in the Market Square, and that the matter is in need of attention.
“You have to look at the reason why some persons who were here before remain at the other locations”, he said.
Smith explored a variety of other prominent matters affecting District 4 and the wider territory as a guest on 284 Media’s Just for the Record.
See full interview below.
