Sea breeze, sand covered streets, and golf carts are elements that define San Pedro. But last week Belize's number one tourist destination got a facelift. Downtown San Pedro's sand covered streets have been paved with cobblestones. After months and nearly a million dollars spent, Pescador Drive has a new look. Our colleague at the San Pedro Sun Ron Sniffin has this report.
Ron Sniffin Reporting, For [The San Pedro Sun]
San Pedro is the number one tourist destination in Belize. Part of its charm are the golf carts and sand covered streets. But come rainy season the streets turn to mud and the potholes are everywhere. For the past several months, the Town Council has launched an ambitious project to pave Pescador Drive with cobblestone.
Elsa Paz, San Pedro Mayor
"This project has been one of our priorities because we have tourists that visit the island every year and this is the number one complaint. The first complaint is about the street when it rains, it gets muddy and because of too much dust and too much vehicles. So we the Town Council, we thought that we have to do something to have a better community and to have better service for the tourists that arrive here in our island every year."
"For many years the people of San Pedro endured the deplorable conditions of this street and today we rejoice in the completion of this undertaking."
"This project is costing $820,000 for the labor and $150,000 has been for the purchasing of cobblestones. So all together its almost a $1 million and the money is coming from all the different private sectors and residents of this community. But the majority of the project cost is funded by the property tax that we are collected on the council. So we are using a lot of the property tax revenues to invest in this cobblestone project."
A project of this magnitude could not be completed by government dollars alone. Therefore the community support was instrumental in getting the project completed. During the official inauguration ceremony on Thursday, many of the local businesses that contributed were recognized for their support.
Kelly McDermott, San Pedro Businesswoman
"The new roads will make San Pedro a better place to live and a more enjoyable place to vacation. On a larger level, the paving is proof that if local government and businesses work together almost anything is possible. The Mayor and Town Council and Area Rep. worked very hard to raise the funds from our national government and after they received some of the funds necessary, they worked hard to encourage local businesses to cover the expenses that the national government would not. And local businesses, like the one I am involved in, answered that call and were happy to donate the large amounts of money to make this street paving a reality. Projects like this are what San Pedro needs more of; local politicians listening to the people and deciding how San Pedro can improve and then working with local businesses who are interested in giving back to the community."
So with the cobblestone project complete, the Mayor and the Town Council are looking for a next project to complete. From San Pedro for the San Pedro Sun, Ron Sniffin News Channel 7.
The project was funded jointly by the Town Council and the business community.
