Harris leads restoration of Charles Gordon Market to former glory

Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:Up to a year ago, the Charles Gordon Market in Montego Bay was in a sordid state. The facility has now been transformed by the St James Parish Council to what many Montegonians have deemed tip-top shape, through funding from the local authorities and the European Union (EU), under its Banana Support Programme.

The restoration work, which was undertaken in mid 2012, included the complete refurbishing of the roof and removal of dilapidated stalls which had littered the compound, as well as a thorough cleaning of interior and exterior areas and the reestablishment of a police post.

Errant vendors, who peddled their wares in the market's parking lot, causing traffic obstructions, were subsequently relocated within the market, thus freeing the parking lot for motorists. A restriction was also placed on the movement of handcarts in the vicinity.

EARLY DAYS

"The market was really built in the 1960s at a time of transformation for markets in Jamaica," Mayor Glendon Harris told Western Focus. "It was properly laid out on an ideal piece of land in those days, and people were able to access it with trucks and other delivery vehicles, close to the railway line. People travelling on the train were able to stop there as there was a market ramp there.

"It carried a main market building and had other areas for itinerant vending. Over time, it became a complete market district with the other commercial amenities surrounding it - wholesales and things of that nature," Harris, who is also chairman of the St James Parish Council, added.

However, Harris said the market began to degenerate towards the end of the 1980s due, especially, to criminal activities which began to surface in the surrounding areas, resulting in even the Jamaica Constabulary Force closing the police post it operated there.

"Squatting became a major factor, and many illegal activities began to take place there. The police post was at a section that became unsafe for even the police to operate from. The police had to evacuate for their own safety. The construction of shacks posed another problem, restricting pedestrian and vehicular traffic inside there," he said.

SERVICE DETERIORATES

"The market was divested at one point, and the main objectives of the market were lost in the process as it became more of an income-earning factor to the lessee as opposed to providing a worthwhile service. It got to the stage where it was unsafe and generally unfit for anybody to operate in. There were also issues of public health and hygiene there," he added.

Harris said the initiative to restore the market was taken in a bid to provide better organisation and structure to its operations and to guarantee the security of its users.

"The objective is to make the facility more attractive to the public, and to lift the standard under which the parish's major market is being operated. Because I am involved in agriculture, I know that for the farmers and their wives who had to go there, the conditions were unbearable.

"So, in leading the council at this time, we decided to make a deliberate attempt to restore law and order. We want to ensure local persons gain economic benefits. We cannot afford for them to be left out of the loop because with the market in a bad shape, they won't be able to benefit economically as they should," he said.