And while we'll see who gets run over by Sisyphus's boulder - both sides will agree that new proposed infrastructure, especially near bodies of water, has to be especially scrutinized going forward.
But the Stann Creek West area rep doesn't think it'll be a problem for his proposed bridge that is supposed to connect Placencia Village to Independence. He says that rather than hurt the environment, it will actually help it, and it would also make it much easier for the students who have to travel over an hour everyday to get to school. He explained his plans last week.
Rodwell Ferguson, Area Rep, Stann Creek West
"Any developed country in the world will not have a body of water that will separate two adjacent communities. And so when I look at the situation between Placencia and Independence, imagine if I live at Independence and I want to drive to work every day, I have to drive fifty miles around and only three minutes across. And so I am adamant to find the funding to fund a bridge from Placencia to Independence. The bridge will be point eight of a mile and then we'll have to build road at least a mile and a half to get across from one side to the next. Imagine you have six school buses leaving the Placencia peninsula every day, go all the way around to Independence so kids have to wake up at five in the morning. If a bridge was there, you wake up seven o'clock, get to school on time. So that is my intention as area representative. I am hopeful that I will accomplish it before the next two and a half years; at least make a start of it."
Reporter:
"Do you anticipate any pushback from environmentalists?"
Rodwell Ferguson, Area Rep, Stann Creek West
"Well that is part of the cycle, so we have to go to the environmental department and apply and do your ECP and whatever the case may be. They will determine at the end of the day if it is feasible or should be done. But it is basically a bridge across the lagoon that will definitely have more benefits. For example, the amount of emission that we have to travel all around from Placencia to Independence on a daily basis, it is already polluting the airspace. Every single morning, at least twenty-five buses come from from Bella Vista, from Georgetown, going into Placencia every day. If we can divert the route, it will be less time and less emission."
