PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands; Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 - On Sunday July 19, residents of Blue Hills planted the first street sign in the bustling community of Providenciales. The street sign, Tumpa Avenue, was donated in honour of Mr. Tom Lightbourne, a long time prominent Blue Hills resident and great supporter of the street naming project and 911 initiatives. What is more, Mr. Lightbourne’s residence is the first in the area to receive a house number and to have it prominently displayed.
Members of Mr. Lightbourne’s Native Men’s Fellowship group helped to dig the hole, mix the cement and plant the pole for Tumpa Avenue’s sign. Several persons from the community stopped by during the brief ceremony and were able to get information on how they too can name their streets and obtain their official address.
Of the occasion, Mr. Lightbourne said: “I am very touched by the gesture. This is not my street alone and I am sure other residents will be proud and happy to have an official road name and address. I hope that the community will respect the significance of having these signs go up around the islands and that they will not be defaced or destroyed.”
During a presentation, Miss Juliette Gooding, Manager of the 911 Emergency Response programme said: “For the first time in the history of the Turks and Caicos a large percentage of the streets are officially named in Providenciales and many dwellings have been assigned a number. At the moment, this information is held in the street naming and mapping offices of the Department of Planning, but 911 is rolling out street signs which are mostly donated or purchased by individual communities and residents, and coordinating efforts to ensure that members of the community know their address.”
“The street naming programme is key to the functioning of an efficient and reliable 911 service,” noted Miss Gooding, adding that: “In an emergency situation every second matters and naming streets and knowing your address is crucial to ensuring that precious moments are not lost. We call on members of the public to get in touch with us to find out what their address is.”
Persons wishing to know their address and register their information against that address should contact the 911 Emergency Response Secretariat via email
admin@911tci.com, by telephone on 946-5255 or by visiting their offices located in Williams Plaza, 34B Old Airport Road.
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