The violence which plagued the Hamilton Bus Terminal throughout the school year was largely instigated by young adults -- not schoolchildren.

This was the consensus of area merchants who witnessed frequent misbehaviour during the past ten months. However, this week they told The Royal Gazette they were relieved that the commotion which once stole headlines has relaxed.

"By no means has the violence and misbehaviour disappeared,'' said Greg Hopkins, owner of the Winner's Edge Bike Shop, "but it is certainly not as frequent as was the case in September and October of last year.'' In a September interview, Mr. Hopkins reported witnessing three disruptive incidents within 20 minutes and having visitors seek refuge in his Church Street store.

"There are hundreds of tourists in the area of the bus stop every day, and the activity there reflects very badly on Bermuda,'' he said then.

Older individuals, while causing trouble themselves, would also egg students on and cause further problems, according to Dave Cardell of The Cellular Centre on Church Street.

"Most of what happens over there is just plain misbehaviour, such as people mouthing one another off and swearing,'' said Mr. Cardell.

On September 29, last year five CedarBridge students were arrested after a showdown with Police at the bus terminal. It was the second clash between students and Police in less than two hours and the fifth incident in as many days. Several individuals, who were not all students, continued to badger officers despite Police efforts.

As a result of this and other incidents, Police officers were stationed at the bus terminal between 3 and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

"Police vehicles were often parked outside on Church Street to monitor the area,'' Mr. Cardell recalled.

An employee of The London Shop, who only identified himself as "Scotty'', noted the troublemakers at the terminal were not just from CedarBridge.

"Once the Police were there, everything was all right,'' he added. "But take the Police away for two days, watch out on the third.

"The Police presence has definitely been reduced due to the reduction in violence,'' Police have disclosed that the Parish constable for the City of Hamilton continues to drop by when on the beat.

And the Corporation has responded to the loitering problem at the nearby Nellie's Walk by removing a popular bench, relocating the nearby cycle bays, and widening the crosswalk.

There are also plans to install a city-wide closed-circuit television system to further decrease disruptions in the area.

Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Roger Sherratt said: "Hopefully phase one of the project (which includes the bus terminal) will be completed by September.

"Not only will Police be able to respond to situations,but the cameras' presence will also prevent most would-be incidents,'' he said.

Commenting on spotlights which have been installed at the bus terminal, one merchant said: "It's like day at all hours over there.'' But Mr. Cardell said that he had seen a man arrested at the terminal only last week.

But Mr. Sherratt stressed violence has always been a problem at the bus terminal.

"What we saw at the beginning of this (school) year is similar to incidents in the late 1970s,'' he said. "I must stress that this violence is nothing new, and to place the entire blame on CedarBridge and its students would be unfair.''