Commuters call for a bench for Johnny Barnes

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Concerned commuters are pushing for a permanent seat for Johnny Barnes at Crow Lane roundabout.

An ambulance was called to the Paget spot two weeks ago after the 89-year-old fell to the ground and couldn’t get up.

According to Mr Barnes, ambulances were called unnecessarily he’d merely tripped trying to get out of a hole that developed through years of him standing on the same patch of dirt.

“I didn’t faint like they said I did,” he said. “I just fell. I didn’t need any ambulance, I was fine. I was just trying to get out of this hole and I tripped.”

He has since carried a chair to the roundabout he’s stood on from 1986 to greet morning commuters, so he doesn’t have to be constantly on his feet.

He has also been seen holding onto a traffic sign posted at the roundabout for support.

Commuter Ron Spencer has recently grown concerned based on his impression that Mr Barnes “needs assistance both standing and sitting”.

He feels Mr Barnes’ morning spot should be equipped with a “handrail with concrete slab and rubber padding for when he stands, and possibly a small elevated bench of some sort”.

“It’s all about doing the right thing,” Mr Spencer said. “You hear people say it all the time people come first. How often do you see people putting other people first?

“Johnny is out here in the pouring rain at four in the morning every morning, while other people don’t even want to get out of bed and go to work. [I’ve noticed that] every child that has passed here this morning has called out his name.

“Tourists who visited Bermuda years ago still remember Johnny, and people coming to Bermuda make sure that they see him while they’re here. Johnny is one of the best known people in Bermuda.”

Other commuters have said that a bird cage similar to the one on Front Street should be constructed on the roundabout.

According to Mr Spencer, Government is planning on building something to aid Mr Barnes but just what is uncertain.

Said Works and Engineering’s principal civil engineer Peter Havlicek: “This is something that the Ministry will look into, however we also have to be mindful that we don’t create something that will be a hazard to motorists from impaired visibility or increased safety risk.”

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