Vendors on borrowed time as Bolt statue inches closer in Falmouth
FALMOUTH, Trelawny — The long-overdue unveiling of a statue of legendary Olympian sprinter Usain Bolt in the historic Water Square in Falmouth, Trelawny, has inched a step closer following the sourcing of critical parts.
As a result, vendors have once again been put on notice that they will have to clear the area where the statue will be placed.
Speaking at the regular monthly meeting of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Thursday, Superintendent of Roads and Works Lavern Morris revealed that the parts were delivered on May 7. They were sourced in Spain and shipped via Miami.
According to Morris, representatives of Jamaica Defence Force, which did some work on the project last April, have agreed to examine the parts next week with a view to “install it in short order”.
Mayor of Falmouth and chairman of the TMC Councillor C Junior Gager, who had previously promised that the statue would have been unveiled as soon as work on the base was completed, was elated that work will resume soon.
“The unveiling of the statue is long overdue. One of the main things that was holding it up was getting the waterboy from Spain. We are so happy that we now have it and are grateful to that person in Miami who organised and guided it to us,” he said.
The mayor used the opportunity to warn that order will have to be restored to the pedestrianised area of Water Square where the statue of the iconic sprinter will be mounted.
Gager noted that illegal vending will no longer be tolerated in the area, which is expected to be an attraction for tourists and locals in the town of Falmouth.
“When we move we don’t want them [illegal vendors] to say that we haven’t served the proper notices on them in asking them to move. But you must agree that we could never ever have the unveiling of the statue with that sort of surroundings. It will have to change because we will have to have respect for the person whose statue is there. We don’t want any comments to say we have put the statue in an unwelcoming environment,” Gager told reporters during a post-meeting interview.
“We are going to be working with them. But while we are working with them we won’t be taking the brute force approach; we will be talking and negotiating… because it will also be creating business opportunities for people in the town of Falmouth, once they are in the right location. Once we can get that amount of tourists coming into the town you will have them wandering off into various shops and spaces to get something Jamaican, to get something Falmouth to buy. That is where we are going,” he added.
The fountain will feature eight spouts from which water will jet into the air, creating a photo op.
Two storyboards, one of the iconic athlete who is a native of Trelawny, and the other of Water Square, will also be placed at the fountain in the pedestrianised area of the town centre.
The design of the original fountain, which dates back to 1805, has evolved over the centuries. The newly designed fountain will be lit up in different colours to commemorate national holidays such as Emancipation and Christmas.
Bolt, a native of Sherwood Content in the parish, holds world records in the 100 metres and 200 metres as well as the 4x100m relay.
He has eight Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championships gold medals.