East-West Corridor
The East-West Corridor (German: East-West Corridor ) is a heavily populated area in Trinidad and Tobago and, with around 550,000 inhabitants, the largest agglomeration and the most important business location in the country.
geography
The East-West Corridor is the area between the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain, and Arima , just under 30 km to the east . The densely populated area has an unusual east-west extension: Since Port of Spain is bounded in the north by the Northern Range and in the south by the Caroni Swamp , the city expanded to the east over time. The resulting East-West Corridor is so densely populated that in the past independent cities merge into one another and now have the character of districts of the capital agglomeration. However, they are still formally independent. As early as 1960 the area had 350,000 inhabitants, in 1980 over 400,000. The East-West Corridor forms the northern part of the fertile Caroni Plain , a low- lying plateau between Trinidad in an east-west direction, the Northern Range and Central Range, through which the Caroni River flows.
traffic
The East-West Corridor runs along the Eastern Main Road and the Churchill Roosevelt Highway , the two most important, parallel west-east traffic axes in Trinidad, which run across the agglomeration between Port of Spain on the Gulf of Paria and Valencia in Sangre Grande . The country's most important north-south axis, the Uriah Butler Highway , which merges into the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway in Chaguanas , has its northern end point at St. Joseph in the East-West Corridor. All three traffic axes are notoriously congested, especially at peak times. The island's largest (and only international) airport, Piarco International Airport , is located south of Arouca on the edge of the area. The seventh largest airport in the Caribbean is the home airport of Caribbean Airlines and one of the three bases of the Trinidadian Air Force . From 1876 to 1968 the area of the East-West Corridor was connected to the then Trinidadian railway system. The first route, opened in 1876, ran from Port of Spain to Arima, with stops in Laventille, San Juan, St. Joseph, Tunapuna, Tacarigua , Arouca and D'Abadie. The last Trinidadian passenger train ran between San Juan and Port of Spain on December 28, 1968.
economy
While heavy industry (oil, natural gas, asphalt, steelmaking) is concentrated in the south of the island and on the Gulf of Paria and the financial sector has its focus in Port of Spain, the East-West Corridor is where manufacturing, trade and service providers have settled. promoted by the high population density and good infrastructural development. Important employers in the region are:
- Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago: The authority manages the country's two international airports and is based on the airport premises near Piarco.
- Angostura Holdings Limited: The headquarters of the manufacturer of the Angostura bitters are located in Laventille .
- Carib Brewery : The largest brewery in the Caribbean is based in Champs Fleurs .
- Joseph Charles Bottling Works and Investments: The beverage bottler based in San Juan markets its fruit juices from the Solo brand in North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
- Massy Motors: Trinidad's largest vehicle importer with a 40% share of the country's passenger car fleet is based in Morvant .
- Water and Sewerage Authority: The state-run service provider has a monopoly on water supply and sewage disposal and is headquartered in St. Joseph .
Tourism plays a subordinate role in Trinidad. Due to its location on the edge of the Northern Range, the East-West Corridor is a starting point for hikers and ornithologists. The Benedictine Abbey of Mount Saint Benedict near St. Augustine is a tourist destination. South of Laventille is the Caroni Swamp, a nature reserve. In Laventille there are also several Pan Yards, the popular practice areas for steel bands . St. Augustine is one of the four campuses of the University of the West Indies with approximately 18,000 students enrolled. The cityscape of St. Augustine and the neighboring cities is clearly shaped by the size of the educational institution. In Trincity is the Trincity Mall, the largest with 185,000 m² area shopping mall in the Caribbean.
Due to the high population density, the East-West Corridor is a focus of crime in Trinidad. In 2013, over 70% of homicides in the country were committed within the agglomeration. Another problem is the frequent flooding caused by rivers originating in the Northern Range and draining into the Caroni River, which runs through the entire East-West Corridor.
Cities
The following table lists larger cities in the East-West Corridor from west to east.
| city | region | Residents |
|---|---|---|
| Port of Spain | Port of Spain | 37,074 |
| Laventille | San Juan Laventille | 21,454 |
| Morvant | San Juan Laventille | 22,742 |
| Barataria | San Juan Laventille | 18,299 |
| San Juan | San Juan Laventille | 44,230 |
| Champs Fleurs | San Juan Laventille | 8310 |
| St. Joseph | San Juan Laventille | 14,376 |
| Valsayn | Tunapuna-Piarco | 2552 |
| Curepe | Tunapuna-Piarco | 8740 |
| St. Augustine | Tunapuna-Piarco | 4844 |
| Tunapuna | Tunapuna-Piarco | 17,650 |
| Tacarigua | Tunapuna-Piarco | 5,722 |
| Trincity | Tunapuna-Piarco | 4,252 |
| Arouca | Tunapuna-Piarco | 20,748 |
| Arima | Arima | 33,606 |
Individual evidence
- ^ Annika Fritz: Trincity Millennium Vision . In: 44th ISOCARP Congress 2008 . 2008. (PDF, 592 kB)
- ↑ Newsday of December 8, 2004: How to solve TT's traffic problems. Retrieved March 15, 2016 .
- ↑ St. Augustine Student Statistics 2013/2014 (pdf)
- ↑ Trinidad Guardian, December 19, 2013: Acting top cop on crime: Target is East-West Corridor. Retrieved March 19, 2016 .
- ^ Ministry of the Environment: National Report on Integrating the Management of Watersheds and Coastal Areas. Retrieved March 20, 2016 . , P. 36 (pdf, 2 mb)
- ↑ Census 2011
Coordinates: 10 ° 38 ′ 40.2 " N , 61 ° 23 ′ 38" W.