Port Antonio mayor vows clampdown on street vending and town disorder

The Portland Municipal Corporation has pledged to confront illegal street trading that is steadily choking vehicle and foot traffic through Port Antonio.

That undertaking was given Thursday at a stakeholders’ session in the corporation’s chambers. Local business people pressed for a sharper municipal response not only to unlicensed vendors, but also to unlawful parking, commercial refuse left uncollected, and roads in decline.

The gathering came after a citizens’ letter criticising conditions in Port Antonio spread on social media. The writers said the town was in a deplorable condition, citing illegal stalls, obstructed sidewalks, uncleared garbage and cars parked without authority.

Mayor of Port Antonio Paul Thompson, who led the discussions, linked the worsening street clutter to the May 23, 2023 blaze that destroyed Musgrave Market and left roughly 200 traders without a base. Many later took their goods onto the streets to keep earning.

“The displacement of the market vendors has resulted in the areas of lower and upper West Street, William Street, and Harbour Street being populated by vendors plying their trade,” Thompson said.

He said some sellers were later placed in the marshalling yard behind the market, yet that site cannot hold the numbers involved.

“We did some work at the back of the market, in the marshalling area, where some vendors are currently selling on a daily basis. But that space is far too small to accommodate the large number of vendors. We are now looking into the possibility of having them relocated at the old Jamaica Agriculture Society (JAS) building along Harbour Street in Port Antonio. We are at the discussion stage with the JAS, who first have to carry out a demolition of the existing derelict buildings,” he added.

Merchants also report mounting frustration over faeces and strong smells they attribute to urine and other waste left overnight by people sleeping on the streets and individuals thought to be mentally ill.

Against that backdrop, business operator Audley Lindo urged a joined-up, lasting drive against what he called long-running nuisances: uncleared refuse, illegal vending, illegal parking, congested walkways, and more people of unsound mind in shopping areas.

Portland Municipal Corporation superintendent Raymond Grant, for his part, wants illegal signage taken down at once and has asked shopkeepers to pull furniture and appliances off corridors and footpaths so pedestrians can pass freely.

Grant further pressed for tougher policing of no-parking zones, especially beside the credit union building, so ambulances, fire engines and oxygen delivery trucks can reach health facilities without delay.

Thompson said the Jamaica Constabulary Force and municipal police would jointly keep order in Port Antonio and rein in illegal trading. He stressed that lifting the town’s look and civic pride would sit at the top of the agenda.

“So, we will be staging a walk throughout the town of Port Antonio with all stakeholders, including the police, the municipal corporation, commercial operators, the National Solid Waste Management Authority, and the Ministry of Health, to have a wholesome look at all the illegal activities taking place - with the view to address them immediately. I am also organising a complete wash-down of the town’s sidewalk with the fire brigade, so as to give all these areas a much-needed facelift. We will restore the basic civic pride to Port Antonio and ensure that it is maintained going forward,” Thompson said.