Finding the right mix
Published:Tuesday | August 2, 2011 | 12:00 AM
- Government trying to allow all night parties in downtown Kingston without disturbing those who want their rest
Arthur Hall, Gleaner Writer
PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding is not opposed to the proposal for an entertainment zone to be established in downtown Kingston, where people could party all night long.
But Golding wants to ensure, wherever the party is held, the revellers do not disturb their neighbours.
"Minister (Dwight) Nelson and Minister (Olivia 'Babsy') Grange are working collaboratively on this, but we have to find the best mix possible," Golding told The Gleaner.
There is a proposal on the table for the waterfront and a section of Spanish Town Road, which once housed the popular 'Passa Passa' weekly street dance, to be designated party areas, but Golding noted that "a chain from Spanish Town Road are places where people live".
Ocean Towers Apartments is also a stone's throw away from the waterfront.
Golding recounted a story where a star student in his constituency performed poorly in one subject, and, when he checked, she told him that the night before the exam she was unable to sleep because a sound system was playing metres away, and she was falling asleep during the exam.
"Now, we have to balance her interest as well. We have to balance the interest of the person who comes out of hospital, who had major surgery, and who need their rest,".
According to the prime minister: "Ideally, what you want is entertainment zones where you don't have any significant residential presence and, therefore, you could specify that in that area a certain latitude would be granted".
But Golding noted that those areas were difficult to find in downtown Kingston, and even more worrying is that persons want to party on their doorsteps.
"Increasingly, the community wants to have the party on their corner, two doors from their yard," noted Golding.