Caption: Spectators waiting to be taken back to their park and ride facilities just before midnight
By Chantalé Fletcher
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the space around the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba will be utilised to improve its infrastructure.
During a press conference at Whitehall on Thursday, Dr Rowley was responding to a question from AZP News on the chaos of the park and ride system to enter and exit the ICC T20 match on Wednesday night between West Indies and New Zealand.
Patrons were told that shuttle services will run every five minutes from South Park car park and every ten minutes from the Petrotrin Pointe-a-Pierre before the game to accommodate the expected influx of spectators during game day including persons with disabilities.
BLCA has a capacity of 14,500 spectators. The game was sold out.
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Spectators were visibly upset with police officers who were just standing around and seemed not to know what to do. Young children with their parents were also seen waiting on the shuttles.
Shuttles therefore had to use the Tarouba exit south of the stadium and then head back north in the case of people having their cars at Pointe-a-Pierre.
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Some decided to walk on the shoulder of the Solomon Hochoy Highway risking their lives to get to their destinations.
Speaking on Thursday, Dr Rowley said, “We are in the process and as the resources become available, the government will add more to it. We are also hoping to construct a hotel around the venue to improve the quality of the grounds.”
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Dr Rowley admitted, “We have to organise better access and egress in such a way that people can in a reasonable time get to the ground, get inside and when it’s over leave in a reasonable time .
“The venue has now become one of the premier venues in the Caribbean for cricket and I expect more and more cricket to be played there. I am glad that people are supporting me but we have to do better.”
Dr Rowley said on his way to the game on Wednesday night, there was a lot of standstill traffic to enter inside but was not sure they would before its start.
He said there was space around the venue for more infrastructure to be built in the not too distant future so the inconveniences of viewing the games would be something of the past.
