Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Time to improve poorly designed road networks

Time to improve poorly designed road networks

There is a call for road networks to be improved across the territory to change the culture of unsafe practices among motorists.
That position was put forward by hosts of the Talking Points radio show, Violet Gaul and Damion Grange who were discussing poor road practices with former Commissioner of Police Michael Matthews.

Grange said while he admits that some motorists make the roads unsafe for other users, the government must be blamed for vital road infrastructure that should already be in place for the motoring public.

“I attributed the poor (road) design to our government because there is nowhere to pull over and drop off people. There is nowhere to pull off the road if you’re having mechanical issues. So it’s an unsafe road system in general and we just can’t put the responsibility on just the drivers,” Grange stated.

While agreeing that the roadways need to be improved, Former Commissioner Matthews bemoaned the unsafe road practices among drivers, especially taxi operators who transport locals and tourists.

“We have some very unsafe practices still here on our roads. A lot of people do not understand dual carriageway. You’ll see taxis and cars stopping in the outside lane which is the overtaking lane, and they’ll stop and drop the bloke right in the path of oncoming traffic. I’ve seen taxis stopping in the middle of the roundabout. This is not about bashing taxi drivers, we’ve got a lot of very good taxi drivers doing a great job for the territory and tourism,” Matthews explained.

At the same time, Matthews pointed out that he has noticed that many drivers don’t use the areas along the roadways that are designated for pick up and drop-offs.

“There are also locations where drivers are told ‘that’s the place to pick up passengers’ and it still gets ignored because somebody is flagging them down and they’ll just stop the traffic to pick up. We are going to see people get hurt at some point because nobody is thinking safety,” Matthews stated.

The state of the territory’s roads is always a topical issue in the community. And while BVIslanders always advocate for improved roads to accommodate local motorists, many have expressed concerns that the roads aren’t suitable to accommodate the increased airlift the territory is expecting as of June 2023.

Works Minister Kye Rymer vowed that roads on the eastern end of Tortola that will be frequented by visitors will be ready for increased arrivals next year.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×