Tuesday, March 19, 2024

San Pedro Town Clock under construction

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In The San Pedro Sun, Volume 21 Issue #31 dated August 11, 2011, Mayor Elsa Paz made mention of her plans to construct a town clock at the intersection of Barrier Reef Drive and Ambergris Street. “A town clock is planned to take the place of the proposed lighthouse. The town clock would be located on Barrier Reef Drive in the area where Ambergris Street meets Barrier Reef Drive. While this was not in the original plan for the park, the Mayor stated that it will add to the beauty of the park as well as assist in controlling heavy traffic on the front street. Ramon’s Village has expressed interests in sponsoring the clock. Mayor Paz hopes that this is a project that she will be able to see completed shortly.

Well, construction of this Town Clock commenced early Monday morning, October 24th. A construction team from Graniel’s Construction was on the site setting the ground work for the clock. The project is estimated to be completed within six weeks. During this period of time, the road will be blocked from in front of Café Cubano going northbound to Heritage Bank. According to the Mayor, the cost of the project could not be discussed as it is being donated by Ramon’s Village.

The tower, with the base measuring seven feet by seven feet and standing 21 feet 8 inches tall, will sit in the middle of the intersection. The clock structure will house a permanent screen measuring 4’ x 6’ x 2”, which will continuously be running advertisement of town events and of course, Ramon’s Village. According to the Mayor, other advertisers will be welcomed to use the screen to advertise at a cost.

Many residents that have become aware of the project have commented to The San Pedro Sun that they don’t believe this is a good idea and that quite frankly they don’t believe it will work. Others stressed the need for streets rehabilitation and offered that the money to be spent on the clock would be better spent fixing the streets in the low lying areas.

Further to residents’ concerns, representatives from Belize Water Service are concerned as the structure sits atop two of their main water lines. They are concerned for future issues that would require accessing those pipes. To this concern, the mayor clarified that her clock would be elevated two and a half feet off the ground and that BWS will have no problem accessing their water lines.

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