Some Bay Street merchants are eagerly anticipating the start of the redevelopment of downtown Nassau, an area which has for years been plagued by unsightly buildings, a shortage of parking and accumulated garbage.
The merchants yesterday cited the lack of restroom facilities and the continuous harassment by stragglers downtown as major nuisances for the area.
They also said that proper security is desperately needed to safeguard hundreds of workers who make a living along Bay Street.
While the idea to transform downtown Nassau into a boardwalk has been praised, some merchants feel the government is moving too slowly in starting the project.
William Carey, head buyer as Solomonﾴs Mines, who has been a member of numerous committees geared at devising plans to revitalize the area, said he and his colleagues have formulated great ideas over the years. However, he said there have been no changes.
ﾓIﾴm sad to say Iﾴve seen no real development, or improvement for the last 10 years since Iﾴve been in retail,ﾒ he said.
ﾓIﾴve suggested making certain areas more pedestrian and really taking our tourists into consideration by having rest areas and outdoor verandas with restaurants and the whole works. I know they talked about redeveloping the Charlotte Street area, but that has yet to come to fruition.ﾒ
Mr. Carey said he would like to see retail, culture and the overall beach scenery fused to create a better ambiance in the area.
ﾓTaking into consideration Bay Street with the beaches between here and Arawak Cay, I would like to see some kind of development that merges these three things to make it a [better] destination, so that youﾴre not just coming to Nassau for shopping. I would love to see that,ﾒ he said.
Mr. Carey said parking is always a major problem. However, he rejected the idea of building more parking lots. Instead, he said the government should focus its efforts on creating a more efficient public transit system.
The call to improve Bay Street is not only coming from Bahamians, but tourists as well.Mr. Carey said he has gotten a lot of negative feedback from visitors.
ﾓI have had customers who said that they visited The Bahamas before and on their second trip the place was cleaner. However, recently Iﾴve been getting more negative feedback, stating that Bay Street has become somewhat dirtier than it used to be,ﾒ he said.
ﾓIt saddens me because I do a lot of traveling and I know the potential Nassau and other areas have, including Arawak Cay. It saddens me that we donﾴt take full advantage of that.ﾒ
Charlene Johnson, Manager at The Colombian, said there is much to do in terms of redeveloping Bay Street.
ﾓThere are a lot of strays downtown, especially the guys who like to hang out around here, and itﾴs causing a problem because tourists get scared when they see scruffy looking guys coming around the area,ﾒ she said.
ﾓItﾴs a problem for me too when Iﾴm closing up the store in the evening just to see them there. Iﾴm always wondering what theyﾴre going to do. So maybe the government can step in and ensure that these men are diverted somewhere else so that downtown can stay nice and clean. After all, we want to make sure that Bay Street is a place where the tourists will say ﾑwow this is the place to shopﾴ this is the place to be.ﾴﾒ
Ms. Johnson said Bay Street workers also need special provisions regarding parking.
ﾓNot only do we need more parking for the employees, but we need closer parking. Personally, when I get off late at night if Iﾴm going to a parking area thatﾴs far away, Iﾴm afraid to leave. Itﾴs scary, and someone could be following me. So we really need closer parking for people who work here,ﾒ she said.
Naomi Bonaby of the Perfume Bar said there is a huge shortage of adequate bathroom facilities downtown.
ﾓWe have a lot of problems with restrooms,ﾒ Ms. Bonaby said. ﾓThe tourists come in and they always ask, ﾑwhere can we go for a restroom,ﾴ and I have to recommend Lumﾴs upstairs or Solomonﾴs Mines. I think itﾴs a shame, so we definitely need more restrooms,ﾒ she said.
ﾓWe also need more parking for Bay Street because itﾴs very hectic, and normally we have to pay $6 to park just for one day. We need proper restaurants. Itﾴs so hard, we work all day and we canﾴt even find a proper restaurant to eat. They need to look into that and better that situation.ﾒ
Ms. Bonaby also believes that there needs to be more security placement in the area.
ﾓSometimes the guys come into our shop spraying up the colognes and harassing us and causing problems,ﾒ she said. ﾓItﾴs horrible.ﾒ
Meantime, Chairman of the Nassau Tourism and Development Board, Mike Klonaris, who is also the owner of Mikeﾴs Shoe Store, said while plans have not been completely finalized as yet, there are short, mid and long term strategies to beautify the area, which will not only encompass Bay Street, but the stretch from Arawak Cay to Montagu as well.
ﾓWe want to transform downtown not only into a shopping Mecca, but a place where you would want to stay for the entire day. That way the experience becomes a wonderful event, and not just some place where you come here, shop and then leave. The city would become so accommodating to the customer,ﾒ he said.
ﾓMillionaires come down here and bypass the place because itﾴs such a pain to find parking or to maneuver.ﾒ
Mr. Klonaris said building multi-family condos downtown would not only be a beautiful venture, but a wise investment as well.
ﾓWhen we move the shipping yard, think of how great it will be to have family units on the waterfront,ﾒ he said. ﾓItﾴs a beautiful idea, and besides, why canﾴt we have our own Paradise Island on Bay Street? Itﾴs completely workable.ﾒ
Mr. Klonaris said while major changes will take a little longer, the first phase of the beautification process should begin soon. Plans are also on the drawing board to make the area more handicap accessible.
ﾓThereﾴs an entire package that weﾴre dealing with, and of course we will have to implement the proper legislation to assist,ﾒ he said. ﾓItﾴs really a lot to do, and we will need the will of everybody. But youﾴll see, it will be astonishing, like a stone rolling down the hill.ﾒ
Rogan M. Smith, The Bahama Journal
