On Tuesday, June 4th, Mayor Darrel Bradley took Christine Norton, Country Representative for UNICEF, and Mary Vasquez, Executive Director of Restore Belize, on a tour of Southside Belize City. The Mayor intends to apply for funding from UNICEF for a project aimed at improving the infrastructure and quality of life for residents of Southside Belize City, specifically, the Port Loyola Area.
The technical teams of the Belize City Council, UNICEF and Restore Belize were also present on the tour. It included visits to Saint John’s Primary School, Cumberbatch Field, Excelsior High School and Wesley College. The group also inspected the Yarborough Football Field and its shoreline. They drove through Gill Street, Nurse Findley Crescent, Central American Boulevard, Boots Crescent and Neal’s Pen Road. During this time, they spoke to residents of the area and Mayor Bradley shared his plan for improving their community.
Mayor Bradley said the goal of the tour was to identify the most critical needs of the community before drafting the proposal for community development. After the tour, Mayor Bradley said that the three most important goals are reclamation of land, rehabilitation of schools and development of infrastructure. There was clear evidence of erosion along the shoreline and many people will soon lose their property if measures are not taken to stop the erosion and reclaim land. The area is also vulnerable during storms because there is no protection from the sea. Mayor Bradley also plans to rehabilitate schools in the area and improve street infrastructure and drainage.
Mayor Bradley’s proposal for the development of the area toured on Tuesday will cost approximately US$5 million.
