Faber’s Road Residents Have Nowhere to Park

Residents and business owners on Faber’s Road in Belize City are up in arms over the recent redlining of a section of the road. The new no-parking zone, stretching from Central American Boulevard to the Faber’s Road Police substation, has caused quite a stir. Business owners are worried that the inconvenience will drive away customers, while homeowners are left scrambling for parking spots. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with more details.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Parking on Faber’s Road has become a nightmare for residents and business owners. Since last month, the stretch from Central American Boulevard to the police substation has been redlined, and those who used to park there are now getting ticketed. This change has left everyone scrambling for parking spots and feeling frustrated.

 

Allessia Santiago, Resident

“My daughter bring the vehicle every night when she come from work and she park ova soh and then da mawnin, she left. Police mi come last night and ih put ah ticket and like fifteen minutes afta dat, she mi di look weh fi move the vehicle cause she noh know weh paat fi move di vehicle. So ney come back and start ro halla atta ney and tell ney wa bring the vehicle fi haul it. Fi move it. Well my daughter no want that happened so we di try figure out weh fi do.”

 

Earlier this year, Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner announced plans to redline the entire stretch up to Rio Grande Crescent. This move aims to tackle the issue of derelict vehicles cluttering the area.

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City (File: June 25^th, 2024)

“We are looking through our traffic committee and are putting together some sort of recommendation, where we will look at really redlining that entire stretch up to, I think Rio Grande Crescent.  But we will – we have done a study for all the residential homes along the Faber’s Road and in that study, our city planner found that there are spaces for people to park on the area that is owned by the city for most of the homes. So we are looking to pass a required S.I after the consultations with the residents in that area in the Faber’s Road area. But we are looking to redline that entire stretch right from the Boulevard. 

 

Residents point to the wide sidewalk as one of the problems. A few years ago, the road was reconstructed, limiting the amount of road space.

 

Voice of Faber’s Road Resident

“I think the problem started when we spent eight million on a street so thin, when we actually have enough space that we could have made this road much wider. And even the sidewalk to see the sidewalks is so wide that three people who can walk abreast. Having the sidewalks a foot thinner would have alleviate a lot of the problem that we’re having with vehicle passing each other. ”

 

Business owners are feeling the pinch, worried that the lack of parking will scare away their customers. One resident suggested a potential solution: allowing parking during specific time windows.

 

Voice of Faber’s Road Resident

“I da understand wa six to six but weh da si sense ah yo come give people ticet akl ten eleven da night. When people inna ney bed. Got big siren on di blow. Mek lotta npise the come knows pan your door fi give yo ticket.”

 

Faber’s Road was originally designed to ensure smooth movement for cargo trucks coming from the Port of Belize. However, with so many vehicles parked for long periods, it became increasingly hazardous for these trucks to navigate. The congestion also slowed down traffic flow. City Councilor Eluide Miller explained that, based on recommendations from the Traffic and Planning Departments, banning parking on the road was deemed the best solution to address these issues.

 

Eluide Miller, Traffic Management, Belize City Council

“I think we went as far as taking one of the residents to court because he was conducting a business of some sort along the stretch, which was causing issues. And the court delivered a judgment that he was failing to abate a public nuisance, right? And he was required to move those vehicles. He proceeded to move some of the vehicles. Months later, the vehicles came back, right? And so it’s not for a lack of efforts on the council’s end. We’ve tried everything in our power to not have to get to this point, but we have come to the realization that this is the only thing that will have them act in a way that is not inconveniencing the public. Our residents and all those who traverse the area on a daily basis. We have to prioritize your safety. We can’t sacrifice the masses for the sake of a few residents who insist on being inconsiderate and not abide by the law.”

 

The City Planning Unit carried out a study to assess how the redlining would affect residents and business owners. They meticulously analyzed each parcel to evaluate parking availability and impact.

 

Carla Patnett, City Planner

“Each one of the parcels were not a hundred percent, have a hundred percent occupancy, meaning that there is space on the private property for residents to park. Also along Faber’s Road, there is public reserve  in front of each one of the parcels. In different sectors of the stretch of Faber’s Road, there are different widths, but there is also space if the resident has more than one vehicle to park in their property and there’s an overflow, there’s public space where there’s there is that capacity.  And so we took photos from the front, from the side in order to, to evidence that there is sufficient parking and the residents are able to park inside the property.”

 

To address concerns from businesses about losing customers, the council has agreed to permit brief parking periods throughout the day. They also emphasized that any residents with additional concerns are welcome to reach out and discuss ways to improve the parking situation. Britney Gordon for News Five.