Revellers Warned: ‘Obey the Laws’

Police Set Out Routes for Carnival Bands.

WITH hoteliers offering promotional deals up to 50 percent for carnival and the Royal St. Lucia Police saying that it will be on full alert for the activities, especially Monday and Tuesday’s parade of the bands in the city’s center, Carnival 2016 is all set to explode.

But the excitement that is expected to be raised several notches tonight with the Calypso Monarch competition will be monitored keenly by police.

“Obey the laws and cooperate with police officers,” was the warning given by Assistant Superintendent Gregory Alexander, head of the Police Press Office.

He and Assistant Superintendent Bernard Gaston and Inspector Dexter Felix met with reporters yesterday to highlight the traffic management plan for the two days of the parade of the bands.

“The laws of the state and traffic regulations will not be suspended,” Gaston warned.

The lawmen said that a traffic plan for the centre of the City of Castries will be administered thoroughly, however this will cause the relocation of some bus stands, the complete closure of some of the roads within the city centre, traffic diversions and interruptions to the normal flow of traffic.

“As you know we are just days away from the main carnival activity, which is the parade of the bands slated for Monday and Tuesday. We have finalized the traffic management plan for this particular activity and now it is just a question of effectively executing that plan,” said Gaston.

However, he warned that the success of the plan depends on the conduct of drivers and their cooperation with the police.

On Monday and Tuesday motorists travelling southbound to Castries from the north of the country are asked to use the Corinth/Grande Riviere/Balata/Morne du Don Roads for entry into Castries. The bypass road next to the zoo in Union will be a one way route heading to Castries.

Motorists travelling to the north of the island and wanting to use the Gros Islet Highway are asked to use only the left or outer lane as the inner lane is reserved for emergency vehicles and purposes.

All carnival bands will assemble near Mega J’s at Choc and parade down the southbound Gros Islet/Castries Highway, down the John Compton Highway and into Peynier Street. From there will make a right turn into Micoud Street, right turn into Manoel Street, right turn into Jeremie Street, left turn into Darling road, left turn into Jn Baptiste Street and right turn back up the John Compton Highway to their respective dispersing spots.

Bus stands to be displaced are the La Croix bus stand, which will be relocated to the Inner Relief Road. The Gros Islet bus stand will be relocated to George V Park. The Monchy bus stand will be relocated to the Trinity Church Road and the Bexon Bus Stand to the Inner Relief Road.

The roundabout at Mega J will be closed one hour before the first band takes to the road. The Castries/Gros Islet Highway from the Grande Riviere intersection will be closed to all vehicular traffic so too will be the John Compton Highway.

The Lanse Road/John Compton Highway intersection will be closed, so too will be the San Soucis/John Compton intersection. Jn Baptiste Street with its intersection with Reclamation Grounds will be closed as well as the Jeremie Street/Chaussee Road intersection.

Micoud Street will be closed to all vehicular traffic,Peynier at its intersection with Jeremie Street will also be closed to all vehicular traffic and Laborie Street at its intersection with Brazil Street. Mongiraud Street will be closed at its intersection with Micoud Street and Manoel Street at its intersection with Brazil Street will also be closed.

The route for J’ouvert bands, which will assembly at the Vigie Playing Field about 4:00 a.m. Monday is as follows: Down the John Compton Highway, into Peynier Street, left into Bridge Street then right into Micoud Street, right into Manoel Street, right into Jeremie Street and a left back up the John Compton Highway.

According to the Tourist Board thousands of visitors are already on island to take in the sights and sounds of carnival. The island’s lead promotions and marketing agency said it had made a special pitch to woo Caribbean carnival lovers from notably Barbados, Antigua, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and the French Caribbean, as a means of drumming up interest in the sights, sounds and splendour of Lucian Carnival.

“A visit during carnival season is an experience unlike any other, where travellers have the opportunity to become immersed in the Saint Lucian culture, one song at a time,” says Tracey Warner-Arnold, Deputy Director of Tourism.