The Tribune

Bahamas Striping has overhauled George Town’s roads with new traffic control markings.
 Over several days and two trips, the Bahamian striping company laid down stop junctions, a zebra crossing, and centre and edge lines enhanced with high visibility retro-reflective road studs or ‘cats eyes’.

Anthony Moss, MP for the Exumas & Ragged Island, said: “The result is exactly what we wanted. You can clearly see the markings now, even in bright daylight from a distance.

“What also surprised me was how fast Bahamas Striping got this job done. I could see the young crew being trained. What I liked was how this Exuma project was used by Bahamas Striping to train the young men on their crew.

“It was explained to me that only a couple years ago this most likely would have been striped by a foreign company. Now, it’s Bahamians doing it, and that is something to celebrate - our young men are acquiring skills. The owner, Atario Mitchell, has found a way to create a whole new industry that Bahamians participate in and reap the benefits of. That’s a thrilling change,” added Mr Moss.

“We need more of that in this country where we advance Bahamians, train them with overseas experts, and give them a trade.” 
 On George Town’s “double tar seal roads”, after testing the performance of traffic paint, the Ministry of Works eventually decided to use more visible and durable thermoplastic technology.

Family Island roads are typically paved with “double sand seal” instead of the harder hot mix asphalt found in New Providence and Grand Bahama. While traffic paint soaks into double sand seal surfaces, thermoplastic produces a thicker, more visible stripe and is four to five times more durable than quality traffic paint, especially when the surface is more absorbent and is strewn with abrasive sand.
 Atario Mitchell, Bahamas Striping’s president, said: “Learning from this job, we hope the Ministry orders all the Family Island jobs in thermoplastic. The results are better and the value is much greater. Thermoplastic is a better deal as it lasts three or four years instead of one year. It’s brightness holds up better to wear, and the glass beads that we put into it stand up higher to make it more reflective at night.”

He added: “As we usually arrange, Exuma was another opportunity to strengthen our staff’s skills. On every job they learn more. We want these young men to one day be able to stripe the roads by themselves, and even one day own their own operations - either in this field or another.

“Simply showing them that they can grow and be more productive is a great life lesson to learn. With traffic paint, a couple of staff already know how to stripe by themselves.

“One day, we hope to set up a certified training school for road maintenance. We’ve spoken to the government and want to turn that idea into reality.”