Patching up the big holes in San Pedrito

Thank you, Mayor Daniel Guerrero...I like your idea, more hardcore less fireworks. Your priorities are sound!!
Bill Thornton

More Photos here….

More streets get Hard Core Material. Sea Grape Drive, Princess Drive and San Juan Area.
More Photos here….

Lakes will continue to form, even over hard core material, as long as the graders continue to dig the streets lower in the center and high on the outer edges. We really need to have the roads graded to drain.

Amen.

Lakes will continue to form, yes we do agree. Thats why "scubalady" they are putting hardcore, im thire of reading "scubalady" road expert commenting about the roads. Scubalady you should donate some hardcore and stop complaining.......Love

We live on Sea Grape Drive and we have had NO hardcore put on our road. In fact I have had to pay for one of the lakes to be filled in front of our restaurant so people can walk in. I was told on Saturday they would be doing ours on Monday, now Tuesday and still waiting.

Where I live we have purchased several loads of material from Caribbean Depot, not fun of the price but I managed to fixed the entrance of my driveway... How much did you pay for your "lake" to be filled????......LOVE

Cost me BZ$600 to fill half the lake which is one truck load. Very hard work when only you do it yourself. Looks great now. Taxi's can pull up on dry land and people can walk in without wellington boots on.

Strange...I've never seen so many misspelled words and incorrect grammar from a "Dr.". But then again, I only have my Masters. Maybe there's something different in the Dr's. program. Especially for someone that has their signature as "Expert". At least ScubaLdy and I are not afraid to post our names and locations.

Dear Dr. Z
I see you registered on January 7th and have posted 6 times.
I have a feeling you are trolling.
BTW - VERY early this morning they started grading the road up here.
Between me and my neighbor across the road there is a nice DEEP flat lane. I have not gone out and measured it but the 'curb' across the road is several inches high. I envision a lake across the entire road with the first rain.
Now, Dr. Z, you can comment on my not being grateful but the fact remains that as long as they keep digging the bed deeper instead of banking it to drain away the problem will continue to get worse.
Attention: Town Board - what are your instruction to the grader?

The instructions to the grader operator are “grade the Roads”
People must realize that they are not the only people that live on this island, the very bad weather we experienced has put a huge strain on the Town Board, both financially and equipment wise. The town board has to share it’s resources with the whole island community, this means that we cannot concentrate on one area, no matter how important some people feel their area is.
It seems we constantly find ourselves in a “Dammed if we do, Dammed if we don’t” situation, we hope that people would stop and think of others instead of thinking only of themselves and realize that the Town Board has the whole islands interest at heart. We know the roads are in very bad shape but the budget is not there to do the necessary repairs as we would like, including the permanent solution which would be to pave all the roads. We are working on trying to get Government to assist us more, and some of our priorities is the paving of the roads North and South, also the Marina road, but it is a hard battle as it involves a huge amount of investment.
So please, if you have some constructive ideas, which we would gladly welcome, let us know.
The workers doing the road repairs work very hard trying to fix all the roads, and they get very little thanks for their efforts. Finally, we know that grading is not the solution to all road repairs, but it does allow the people of the island to move around more easily, or would you rather we did nothing and wait to see what if we can secure assistance from Central Government.

Tracker says: "but the budget is not there to do the necessary repairs as we would like, including the permanent solution which would be to pave all the roads." and "So please, if you have some constructive ideas, which we would gladly welcome, let us know."

OK, here goes:

1. SPTC needs to link payment of property taxes to issue of vehicle permits, drivers licenses and trades licenses. If you haven't paid your property taxes you don't get any of the above even if you have paid the fees. This alone would result in a huge revenue boost for the SPTC.

2. The newly announced BWS Water and Sewer project for north of the bridge for which $30,000,000 is being borrowed needs to be trimmed to "Water Only." Residents north of the bridge have always managed their own sewer disposal. I would imagine that would save about $25,000,000 as it's much cheaper to lay water pipes which generate revenues than it is to construct sewer pipes, smelly lift pumps and waste ponds which create no revenue at all. I'd say that $25,000,000 would go a long way to paving most of the most frequently used roads on the island, the road north being an obvious candidate.

3. SPTC should allow a committee of concerned and knowledgeable citizens to view all of the SPTC financials transparently so that other revenue streams and savings could be identified. The only critical jobs the SPTC really has to do well to be worth their salt are garbage disposal and road building/maintenance. Anyone looking at the books would almost certainly find an awful lot of unnecessary fluff/waste. Count me out, I hate book keeping.

"We are working on trying to get Government to assist us more"

Further to (1) and (3) above: It is important that the SPTC exhausts all possible options to fully collect the revenues to which they are entitled. Failure to do so will mean the Government will just say "If you're not willing to help yourself why should we?" (even though it's our tax money.)

Edit: Forgot to mention...I am VERY glad the road has been graded.

Ahh but Chris. You missed the implicit part that was if you have constructive advise "that isn't political suicide". No San Pedro Mayor is ever ever ever going to enforce Land Tax payments from larger families that have large numbers of registered voters.

If you really want it to happen you will have to force it. The concerned Citizens ie Gringos - should band together under squeaky clean, ducks arse tight as a drum, legal advice - and not pay Land Tax, or any other taxes potentially, to SPTC - but pay into an interest earning Escrow Account controlled by the lawyer and several other co signees.

Be prepared for a nasty fight and the potential ruin of our Industry.

2 Possible and smart but needs funding for inspection rights that septics etc are up to standard.

3. Err.....is that a flying pig. Not one of the UDP SPTC Members, including the Mayor- to my understanding - have lodged their legally required financial statements at the point of being elected. When was that 2 years ago?! .........and you want to see the books...........

This is the best Mayor and therefore Council in my 13 years here. They have got stuff done. A lot. You still have no chance of any of that happening in my view - but keep trying.

Take this point of view with a grain of salt but it is from a tourist's standpoint.

We stayed about 4 miles north of the bridge a couple weeks ago, and traveled around the island by golf cart or foot.

We knew going in the roads were bad...so we were not surprised. However, a tractor w/ a simple grading implement behind it would help tremendously by taking down the high spots and filling in the low spots. This would not help the larger holes, but i am not convinced the roads need to be perfect in order for people to be happy.

There are great restaurants North (Rendezvous, Aji, Lazy Croc) that are real assets to the island. Above all getting around by Golf Cart is a huge asset to Ambergris...it is very unique to the island and adds a lot to the experience. I truly think that maintaining the road would add business to the North.

Tracker -
You asked for constructive advise and totally missed the point the by grading the roads so that water RUNS OFF is constructive.

I never asked that this be done in my area.
All grading should be done to facilitate run off - then -- just think --- maybe we would need to be graded less often.

I would like you to take a look along side the north road in several areas where the hardcore that was dumped has now been graded into BANKS ALONG SIDE THE ROAD with the original roads in the middle.

I grew up in rural Oregon with small gravel roads with ditches on each side. (I put a Model T Ford in one on one of my joy rides at the age of 13.)

I don't remember them ever having to be graded because they were banked correctly in the first place.

I have a Restaurant down south and have spent nearly BZ$1,500 on my road and laid it myself just so people can walk in. Now people want us to pay for roads up north. Forget it.

John

(Tastes of Thailand)

John, government is borrowing 30,000,000 (it's not a grant. You a taxpayer, will pay) to put 10 of those green sewer lift stations north of town. Now, would you sooner see your hard earned tax dollars spent on road paving (and obviously the road past your place would be a prime candidate) or would you like to see your tax dollars pissed (literally) away?

Phil, the politicians must love it when they read posts like yours which basically say "It'll never happen because it never has." They feed off that because it relieves them of their responsibilities.

As for the tax revolt idea.....I personally wouldn't want to try that with the present government.

If you read my post the money IS there....it just needs to be diverted from unnecessary sewer to much needed roads. Tracker who is obviously close to the SPTC wanted ideas.

FYI, another 50,000,000 HAS been allocated for roads but only after the water and sewer are in. Dump the sewer and the roads ought to go in much faster.

I have to wonder who - up north - told our Mayor we needed sewers? Is there some great new development that doesn't want to do what everyone else has done making contributions?

Think I speak for a lot of us, if not all of us, when I say that we really love reading "good news" stories once in a while. With all the horrible negativity we're soaked in every day, to read something like people are being affected by these horrible weather, just gives me a boost in the old morale. ScubaLdy!!!!....LOVE

The sewerage and water to be put in up North has nothing to do with the Mayor, it is a Government project that has been in the pipeline (excuse the pun)for years, it has nothing to do with "who asked for it" The island is growing fast and the infrastructure is being put in place so as to try to avoid what happened to the town. The Mayor does not have that kind of power or finances for such a project. So if you want to complain, complain to Government not this notice board. As for diverting the funds allocated for this project to build a road, forget it, once funds have been allocated to a project it must be used for that project. It would be nice to have a paved road all the way up North, we could have nightly drag races then that would really P***off the Northerners. LOL.

If they start to have drag races up here at night, I'm sure gonna be sad I sold the '69 440 GTX I had before I move to Belize...

As a former '70 SS396/375 Chevelle owner I'm betting you're sad either way...

Sewer is absolutely NOT needed north of the bridge any further than Reef Village. That's a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars if they allow that to happen. Not to mention....10 lift pumps between the bridge and Blue Reef. Do you fancy one of those near your expensive island home?

Now, water, that's different and would be appreciated by most North island residents, plus, of course, it'd generate revenue.

Put the water in, build the road. It's not rocket science.

Dr. Z you need to tone it down with the personal attack comments this isn't the "Daily Crap" thread. I think the rule is that you give 100 nice posts before you get to start being nasty.

Geez Simon, guess you are reading the "crap" too? Who are you to make that kind of comment on this thread and compare it to the "Daily Crap" thread? Maybe some of you folks should be a bit more concerned about what is happening north of you in Obamaland and quit knocking those that give a "crap"!

RE: Simon... was a pretty die hard Mopar guy... sadder about the '70 Charger R/T 440 5 spd of yesteryear.... A coke bottle figure beauty.

But uh, yeah... sewer this far north at this juncture in time = simply retarded. See how you can do with a simple road first.

How do you put sewers in without a simple road

Bear: you don't. My point is they should just build a road, a good road, nothing more.

Just curious. . . What happened to Capt. Hollywood? I remember him being involved in the road grading.

Wasn't he just involved in talking about it.

Escalante gets covered with hardcore material and we have already started with Boca del Rio!

18 more photos!

SPTC Checks Street Work

Mayor Daniel Guerrero, Deputy Mayor Gabriel Nuñez, Councilors Kenrick Brackett and Carlos Barrientos headed out to Escalante Sub-Division and the D.F.C. area to check out the streets where the machinery from Ministry of Works had been working on these past few days.

They also worked on the Boca del Rio Area, San Juan and some parts of North Ambergris Caye. The San Pedro Town Council would like to thank Hon. Manuel Heredia for his assistance in acquiring the help from the Ministry of Works as well as in the purchase of a few barges of hardcore material.

SPTC Road Work North

Mayor Daniel Guerrero, Deputy Mayor Gabriel Nuñez and Councilors Kenrick Brackett and Carlos Barrientos visited the roads on North, Ambergris Caye to check out the labour being done by the Ministry of Works in conjunction with the San Pedro Town Council.

The most rough parts of the roads are getting work done by adding material to it and grading it to make it even.

The San Pedro Town Council is getting more material which will be used for the San Pedrito Area.

North Ambergris Caye to Have Paved Road Soon!

The San Pedro Town Council is working diligently at repairing roads for the entire island and is currently being assisted by the Ministry of Works in upgrading the roads on Northern Ambergris Caye.

Deputy Mayor Gabriel Nuñez confirmed to Ambergris Today that the Town Council is in the process of signing agreements for the road of North Ambergris Caye to be paved; paperwork should be finalized in the next couple of weeks.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the story and more pictures in the Ambergris Today

When San Pedro has a White Christmas !!!

I HOPE so, champion!!
1. The "paved" roads already on the island can't be maintained.
2. We have NO hospital for emergency care! (PLEASE SPEND ANY MONIES TO PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE!!)
3. We don't have the schools needed for the population we already have on the island.
4. We don't have the water system to maintain this kind of growth.
5. Drivers are already going 40-50 mph in certain stretches on the road north. (And I have the radar and video to prove it!) What are they going to do with a paved road. It's crazy enough in town, and south of town.
6. We don't have the infrastructure for what's already on the island.
7. This is NOT what tourists have been coming to Belize, and specifically San Pedro for year after year.
8. What is so hard to figure out about this?!?
9. Oh...and did I forget to mention that, once again, this was NEVER designated as a road. It was designated as a golf cart path.
10. I know, I know...details, pain in the ass details!

Three miles of northern road to be paved

The San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) is finalizing the first phase of infrastructural road work for northern Ambergris Caye. The first oftwo phases will see three miles of the northern road paved at a cost of $3 million. Work is expected to begin at the end of May, joining road improvements in the other parts of the island.

Mayor of San Pedro Town Daniel Guerrero explained that the investment on the northern Ambergris Caye roads is intended to stimulate the local tourism economy. “Most of our tax dollars come from businesses on northern Ambergris Caye and we need to pump in some of those monies we collect back into the area. We are planning to pave seven miles of roads in two phases, with the first phase consisting of three miles. This will improve the tourism product on northern Ambergris Caye and even possibly increase the value of real estate. This is a direct investment to our tourism industry,” said Mayor Daniel Guerrero.

According to Mayor Danny, the first phase will see three miles of concrete slabs placed on the officially declared road from Grand Caribe Resort southwards to the Sir Barry Bowen Bridge. “We are working with Medina’s Construction Company to carry out this major investment. We will start from Grand Caribe and head southwards towards the bridge. In the second phase, we will move from Grand Caribe to four miles northwards which should be in the general area of X’tan Ha Resort. That area represents 80% of resorts and hotels on northern Ambergris Caye.”

Improvement is also being done further north of Grand Caribe Resort as well as in the SanPedritoArea. Over 40 barge loads of hardcore material, combined with crushed limestone,are being brought to the island to improve the road conditions in residential areas. “We continue to improve the roads in the residential areas of San Pedrito and San Mateo. In fact we are opening a much needed road in the San Pedrito area. In addition to the work that is being planned for the north, we will also be putting limestone material that we acquired on the island to areas that need repair. The SPTC is also working to have a few roads within San Pedro Town paved in three different locations. So we are not neglecting any area, we will continue to work on roads within the town,” explained the Mayor.

Click here for the rest of the story and more pictures in the San Pedro Sun!

This is fabulous news for the island. As far as I am concerned it can't come fast enough.

Mayahouse, your points about schools and hospitals are not relevant to this, your house is on the road, you don't like the speedsters and the dust (neither do I) ....go to the town board and talk to them about ensuring there's a speed ramp on the zig zag corner near your house. If you're polite and nice you never know what can happen.

Again, congrats to all concerned, to the government, town council, the private businesses who pressed for this, what a boon to tourism this will be.

Good news indeed for those of us up north! Lets hope it gets underway on schedule and includes speed bumps!

Thks to everyone who contributed to this plan and its hopeful execution.

Is X’tan Ha Resort past the East West Road? I can't find it on Google Earth.

Hey Town Board, don't forget about the roads down south. We only got a little hard core put down this spring and the road between the dump and Hol Chan has many low spots that will fill up quickly with water when the rains start. Why not pave 3 miles north and three miles south? Our roads get used by the garbage trucks and the sand dredging trucks that helped fill up the new board walk project. These trucks destroy our roads but we get no sand dumped on them from the dredging trucks which are suppose to drop 1 load on our roads for every 10 they haul out of here. Thanks.

To beat a dead horse, there has never been a "road" north of the bridge. It was always designed and approved to be a cart path only. What approvals have been given to pave ANY "road". What studies where done, what engineering plans were designed, what environmental impact assessments were done, who were they submitted to, who approved it, what oversight committee's were in place for contract proposals and bidding, and so on and so forth.
This is definitely a case of putting the cart before the horse, with no long-term vision or planning. Only short term gains for a few, with long term impact to many.
I know no one cares, so I just had to get that off my chest, and now I'm done.

I have to agree with Maya House as it seems that none of the usual due diligence has been followed. I wonder who will be maintaining this road once it starts to fall into disrepair?

But even if it had been, I'm still very disappointed that this is going ahead. My wife and I have been coming to AC since 2002 and bought a place a few years ago. One of the things that attracted us to AC was the quaintness and "rustic" atmosphere, a far cry from the usual all inclusives most people aspire to visit. Having a paved road running only a few feet from our place is not what we want or envisioned.

I guess it's time to sell and take advantage of the mayors prediction of higher property values.

Adios

this is excellent news for my back.....build the road....yeah....good job mayor danny

Yep...good work not following the law.

Anyone would think they are putting a highway in - I just want to be able to get to town on my golfcart at any time of the year without having to take on huge or multiple potholes full of water!

.....so you decided to buy a House that wasn't on a road?

The East West Road is at Indigo, which is in the Mata Grande area between Journey's End Resort and Los Encantos. X’tan Ha Resort (former Legacy) is about 3 more miles more North, Mile 7.17 according to //ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/mapdowntowndetail.html.

.

Was the road in that condition when you bought? It was when I did. It was part of my decision making process.
Also, if the path was restricted to golf carts, which is the only thing it is designated for, we would be able to traverse without the multiple potholes, which are created by the vehicles (taxi's, trucks, etc) that were never supposed to be allowed in the first place.

I bought an apartment in a ski resort without a ski lift because I anticipated the lift would come - and it did! I bought a piece of land on AC 12 years ago and built a house we love because I anticipated the track would be eventually improved and I could buy a boat and did that too. I bought an apartment in the financial centre of London anticipating it would become more residential with shops and lots of restaurants and it did! It is called forward thinking! So once the track is usable I will be able fully to enjoy all three locations. Haven't sold any of them so far! But seeing as I am old and fat perhaps one day I will sell - to those who like to have everything just so from day one!

me too nick..forward thinking is what the town is doing too now....this does not take rocket science to figure out.....more people...more people...more people...what to do ....oh just leave it the same....not

Mayahouse, self-centered selfish rubbish as usual. Sorry you did not do proper due diligence when you bought your house to allow you to figure out that the road was one foot away from your building. Accept this fact, enjoy the increase in value of your home once the road is in, and if you can't accept it, sell it and make a profit.

And, all that trash talk about the road being "golf cart only".....what nonsense. Manhattan Island was once "wigwam only" but that's all changed now, hasn't it?

It seems there is a lot of selfishness concerning the ROAD North. Some people used the road when they were building their homes/condos/resorts, but upon completing their building wanted no-one else to be able to use the road. The island is growing and growing fast, the resorts up North account for a large proportion of the islands economy, with a road in place this will only increase the positive experience of our visitors and residents from up North. As Chris stated the road has always been a road, not a cart track. I think what worries some people is that they have built their homes too close to their property line so now the traffic will pass close to their house.:)The road is coming and it will improve the North of the island, this is just the first stage, there is a lot more to come.

You know what you can do, Chris. I've never made this personal, and I'm not going to stoop to your level now. You comments should be removed. My points are all accurate, valid, and focused on the future of this island. Yours are personal attacks, and very childish.

Mayahouse, if you are posting your points of view because you are "focused on the future of this island" rather than the fact that the road runs right by your property and you don't like it I will remove my comments.

Again, I am sorry you did not do due diligence before you bought your property, but this is not the town council's fault. They and the government are merely going to pave the existing road due to the increased requirement for basic infrastructure development.

As for your assertion that the road was once designated for golf carts only, that obviously changed years ago. It's not something that just happened and as you well know reversal is never going to happen.

Surely you can make the imminent road paving work to your advantage by negotiating for a speed bump in the area of your property?

Again, "Well Done" to all concerned in making this important work happen. So many people will benefit from it.

Chris - You know nothing at all about me, nor what I did before I bought my property. I certainly don't need any of your pathetic and insincere attempts to appease me, as I have no respect for you or your comments. Go peddle your drivel elsewhere. If you want to continue to "call me out", have the cojones to take it off-line and contact me directly.

On a non personal note, it is interesting to me how people pick and choose what infrastructure improvements they endorse. Reminds me of "NIMBY". Not that I agree with the priorities of what improvements should take precedent, but I find it nieve to think with all the effort to promote tourism and the subsequent development, that with that won't come more traffic and the need for improved roads as the island grows and expands.
San Pedro has long evolved from a small fishing village into a tourist destination on which the economy depends.
It would be nice if more thought was given to better controlling the rate of development based on the available infrastructure to support that level of development. But to expect that existing roads not be improved is irrational.

If I could explain a bit more of my position, bywarren, I would love to have the designated cart path (as it has never formally been approved as anything else) be improved. Chris (who built, I believe, all of the Bermuda condos) put in a very short concrete golf cart path which is still there, and for the tiny length it is and after all this time, it continues to work beautifully. I would love to see something like that be put in for a many miles north as possible. My objections are to the continuous lies and non-approved changes that take place based on who has the most money to influence the decisions. When the bridge was put in, over many objections, we were told that no trucks/vehicles would be allowed to cross. Then, wouldn't you know it, they started coming across, just as we had predicted. We were told the same thing then, "we can't go back". And it just continues to evolve like that (as I sit here typing and some maniac is going by at 40+ miles an hour...and another one to boot). There are NO PLANS, especially for long-term maintenance and sustainability. There is no vision, no buy-in, no leadership team. It's just shoot from the hip, never repair the damage that is done, blame it on "we can't go back now", rather than doing some simple long-term planning. It shouldn't be one person's decision, without consultation, information, impact assessments, etc. It just shouldn't happen the way it is happening. And I will always stand by my belief in that I know why most people come to Belize. It's to GET AWAY FROM THE RAT RACE!! Not to jump right back into it. They don't want Cancun, they want peace and quiet. They want quaintness. Look at the videos they post on youtube. It's the sandy roads, the bicycles, the golf carts, the wildlife, the palm trees. Not loud taxi's, not speeding vehicles, not traffic back up's because of all of the vehicles that have no place on an island of this size and lack of infrastructure. And I for one detest all of the outsiders that come here and then want to change it. If you didn't like it the way it was, why move/buy here. I came to live like a Belizean, and become part of their culture. Not to try and change it and them. I would have stayed where I was had that been what I wanted. And to this day, when I buy materials, I have them brought to my house using a local boat owner, or a local with a golf cart and trailer. My comments have absolutely zero to do with NIMBY. I am an environmental/animal/behavioral scientist, and I adhere to my beliefs by the decisions I make and the actions I take.

Unfortunatly that ship sailed long ago.

Everything you say has validity, unfortunately not much reality. I have watched this island evolve over 45 years and the path it has taken is growth without providing adequate infrastructure. I commend anyone who endeavors to change that, but those who do are greatly outnumbered by those who desire more people and more development. And unfortunately many of those promoting the growth are Belizean, and it is their country.
Call me a defeatist if you will, but I see no chance of that changing. Greed has far exceeded the term often used, but never implemented, "sustainable development".
To those in power that means "sustain development and damn the consequences".

Guess which one I am. (And they forgot, solve world hunger too!)

A little history thrown in:
After living here for one year I learned about the Chamber of Commerce meetings at noon each Thursday. I became an active member. When I moved into my condo which is now called Bermuda Palms the 'cart path' came through our back yard. You can look at some old Google Earth or other maps and see that this was a rambling, ever changing egress.

After Reef Village ripped out the mangroves from the lagoon they created access along the lagoon and we were able to block off the traffic through our place. This is now considered the 'road.' The architectural drawings showed a divided road with an island of palm trees down the middle. What a joke!

At the chamber meetings much discussion took place about a "road" up north. We were told repeatedly "THERE IS NO ROAD UP NORTH".

There was a pull ferry and only golf carts paid to cross. We could get a monthly pass for $150 BZ per month. The 'official' toll takers left at 8:00 at night and returned early in the morning. During these hours scabs worked the ferry and charged $10 BZ each way.
Then - against protests from the individual home owners - (not the reports) the pull ferry was replaced by the bridge.

Politicians came to the chamber meeting and PROMISED that nothing larger than a golf cart would be allowed to cross the bridge.

Again we asked to have some repair work done. Some intense investigation showed that although a proposal had been presented to the government it was never acted upon (gazetted). We learned that BEL had a right-a-way under their power lines.

Before the bridge all building materials were barged north (or delivered by boat) and the resorts supplied their private boats to ferry guests and workers from town to their property and back.

Then around Easter one year we had a string of taxis racing by.
The SPTB said 'yes' they had given the taxis permission (no public notice)to cross the bridge but would see to it that they slowed down. They did for a while.

Now the resorts , being tired of the high prices for fuel, saw that they could make their guests pay (?) the taxi fare and save themselves a lot of time and money.

Then someone managed to convince the town board to let them pay a higher fee to let their trucks come across the bridge. And come they did. Bob Cats, Dump trucks, front loaders, flat beds loaded with cement blocks, etc.

Suddenly our sand strip (call it what you will) had big tire marks turning the small pot holes (which we hated) into big sumps that filled with water when ever it rained. For one rainy season the stretch from the corner by Anna Hanna's house to the Maya House was underwater. I had to drive to a neighbor's house on the beach, park and walk to my house. (That was before a certain relator who is no longer here had the beach closed to golf carts).

I learned long ago that you can't unscramble an egg. Yes, there are going to be changes but some of us would like them to be orderly, sustainable and publically announced. The paving of the cart path/road may meet these necessities; the widening that took place last year did not.

An aside: When I built Birdland the power lines were across the road. BEL made me erect an expensive tall cement permanent power pole and told me where to put it. About a year later they came through and put up new - higher -high powered lines on my side of the road. BTW - the workmen were very nice and communicated well. They did not want to have to cut down my Mahogany or sapodilla trees and did a decent job of cutting them back. HOWEVER, the tower they made me build is directly under their lines and it would have been better placed if they had planned ahead.

Now you all can sling mud as much as you want and each of you have some truth/history of your side. We can all claim it is for the betterment of the island but the bottom line is it is about money and a way of life.

One of my writing teachers ponded into me "always ask who is your audience." We may say we need this or that for the tourists but what kind of tourist are we trying to attract?[/u]

So, any updates to the northern road construction?

Champion, only that it is inevitable and (from my point of view anyway) most welcome when it happens.

Mayahouse, OF COURSE your objections are all about your personal peace and quiet at your home being interrupted/ruined by the ever increasing traffic. Just come clean and admit it, no shame in that at all.

It has been a few weeks since I've done so, but I drive my electric Polaris at about 10mph past your house, if it's any consolation. That's the speed I drive past most people's houses. Sorry yours was built far too close to the road.

As long as the island economy demands tourism growth then development and more development will occur and the authorities in Belize will always ensure that Ambergris Caye's infrastructure will evolve about 10-20 years behind every step of the way.

Any up-date on when the work on the track up north is going to start? Someone at Lobsterfest told me the end of June so it must be true although they didn't say which year!

A better question might be, "Has any permanent street work been started north of the bridge?"

Well I can answer that one - based upon a couple of days ago - none!

After a break from the rains, the San Pedro Town Council finally managed to begin with the rehabilitation of the streets.

We have currently graded the main road to San Pedrito, the new road that connects San Pedrito to San Pablo, the main street in San Marcos Area leading to San Pablo, and the main street on Escalante Sub Division. We are currently in the DFC area working on the street leading to the Marina.

We would like to thank Salt Life Belize for assisting us with the machinery to carry out this rehabilitation as well as with some needed fill material.

Work has just begun, we ask for your patience as we will get to your area.


Click photos for more pictures!

It's been a beautiful week to fix the streets and today is no different.

Our team has been hard at work grading the very much needed streets. Here are a few pictures of the areas that have been done. Other areas that were done were the Escalante Sub-Division and Boca del Rio area; however, the work still continues.

San Pedro Town Council

The SPTC street repair projects continue today in San Pedrito. Sand has been deposited on the street to begin grating and leveling the main road.

Street Works Update:

The San Pedro Town Council is committed to the building and maintenance of streets and all roadways in the town.

We appreciate that good streets and roadways are critical to quality living and efficiency in business and town operations.

Our scheduled works for streets will be commencing this coming the weeks. Our schedule was delayed as we put in place all equipment, procedures and financing necessary to complete the works.

We apologize for any inconvenience the road works may cause.We ask our residents to bear with us as we continue to serve their needs and those of our municipality.

Together collaboratively we will see the improved quality of life and development for our much loved Town.

SPTC to start street repairs in subdivisions again

Early in August, the San Pedro Town Council set in motion a plan to rehabilitate streets in the subdivisions around San Pedro Town. A portion of the street at the entrance of the San Pablo area was fixed but works abruptly stopped. Weeks later rains left streets and neighborhoods in areas like DFC and Escalante flooded, prompting residents to ask about the street infrastructure plan.

The San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) stated on Friday, September 24th, that street works are to commence in the coming weeks and explained that the delay was due to securing equipment, and necessary finances to continue the work. The issue with deplorable streets at the island’s subdivisions has been an ongoing problem, particularly during the rainy season. Over a week ago, unprecedented rains left many roadways in DFC, San Pedrito, Escalante to mention a few, almost impassable. Some residences along the streets were flooded and people had no choice but to wait until the rains passed and the water dried up. The only portion of the street seemingly intact after the rain was the renovated section at the entrance of San Pablo.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun

Road Rehabilitation Project

The San Pedro Town Council is currently working on a road rehabilitation project. The plan is to prepare the main roads in the residential areas for proper drainage and pavement.

Works have commenced on marina drive in the DFC area. Works will be done to all residential areas.

Some photos by Miguel Perez on the street repairs being done. Every single area will be addressed. Main roads first. Then the smaller streets. Some will be prepared for paving.

Video: San Pedro Town Council road works begin. First of many phases!

As we progress with road repairs, drains and culverts will also be addressed. Especially with the heavy rains we have been getting.

Work on main streets continues while side streets have to wait a bit longer

The San Pedro Town Council has been busy working on the main streets of the different subdivisions across the island to improve accessibility and efficiency in business operations. This has brought some relief, but many of the side streets are still in terrible condition. Residents living along these bad roadways are anxious to see an improvement; however, they will need to wait a bit longer as the current priority is the main streets.

According to Mayor Gualberto ‘Wally’ Nuñez, the goal is to cement the main streets. Top of the list includes Marina Drive, where all goods are transported to the island, followed by subdivisions like Eiley, Escalante, DFC, San Pablo, and connecting with San Pedrito and San Juan, ending at the Sir Barry Bowen Bridge. Nuñez said that the main street in San Mateo would also be rehabilitated.

Following the renovations to the main road networks, the side streets in the subdivisions will undergo much-needed repairs. Nuñez said the process would take some time as they continue to assess the different roads and obtain resources and material to work on them. He stated that the work would make these streets more resilient to storms while the town council prepares to cement them. Another component that is being looked at carefully is the installation of an efficient drainage system.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun

On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, Mayor Gualberto "Wally" Nunez and Deputy Mayor Ernesto Bardalez were out around the island viewing the streets rehabilitation project that is currently under way. Road repair and drain installations are taking place through out the island. The San Pedro Town Council is at work for a better Isla Bonita.

Mayor Wally Nunez and the San Pedro Town Council continue the rehabilitation of the streets on the island. The Council intends to take on a major project this year to begin the paving of streets for a more permanent solution to one of the greatest concerns for residents. A necessary setback has been the installation of drains throughout the entire island. These drains became imperative and were highlighted after the last heavy rains. The work continues!

Mayor Wally Nunez and the San Pedro Town Council continue the rehabilitation of the streets on the island. The work continues!

The hard work continues as the San Pedro Town Council keeps rehabilitating and maintaining of the streets in the DFC area...Please take precautions when approaching the area. Feel free to drop waters or Cokes for these Guys working under this Hot sun.

The road works have restarted! Fill, spread, compact! The town now owns their own grader and will be receiving another in a few weeks!

As promised, the road works continue on North Ambergris Caye! Through strategic planning and working around the weather the work has resumed! Kudos to Mayor Wally Nunez, Deputy Mayor Jose Castellanos and Councilor Ernesto Bardalez for their collaboration!


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The works continue from the South Gas Station to BWS today… Mayor Wally Nunez, Deputy Mayor Jose Castellanos and Councillor Ernesto Bardalez and the San Pedro Town Council are working on a plan to address the other needed areas as we await material to arrive.

Mayor Wally Nunez, Deputy Mayor Jose Castellanos, Councillor Ernesto Bardalez and the San Pedro Town Council are now spearheading repairs to the roads in San Mateo. New material is being placed. The works continue…

Road works continue: Road to Secret Beach! More areas will be covered as soon as material is available!







San Pedro Town Council

The San Pedro Town Council and their operations department are in the Escalante area with material, drains and culverts. This will make for longer lasting road repairs. We thank you for your patience. We will move in to other areas as soon as material is made available.

The road north is getting a light scrape - now about Las Terrazas up past Xtan Ha. Photo by San Pedro Scoop



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Road works continue in the north and also in Eiley Subdivision and DFC. Thank you to Mayor Wally Nunez, Deputy Mayor Jose Castellanos and Councillor Ernesto Bardalez for making sure the works continue. We will continue working on getting more material to address the other needed areas. Thank you for your patience.


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Road works continue on the Beach Area from Sandy Toes to Boca Del Rio and also in the Escalante Subdivision. Thank you to Mayor Wally Nunez, Deputy Mayor Jose Castellanos and Councillor Ernesto Bardalez for making sure the works continue. We will continue working on getting more material to address the other needed areas. Thank you for your patience.


Click photos for more pictures!