La Horquetta, Arima

La Horquetta
Neighbourhood
Country	Trinidad and Tobago
Region	Tunapuna–Piarco
City	Arima
ZIP code	350462
Area code	643

La Horquetta is a below middle-class neighbourhood in south Arima, 9 km (5 mi) south of the Arima town center in east Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the south-eastern corner of the Tunapuna–Piarco region. La Horquetta is bounded by the Churchill–Roosevelt Highway to the north, Arima river to the west, Brazil river to the south, and the Aripo Savannas to the east, and is adjacent to two other Arima neighborhoods: Malabar to the north, and Carapo to the east. La Horquetta is patrolled by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service's La Horquetta department, as well as Neighborhood Watch and the national organization, Community Comfort Patrol. La Horquetta is dividing into 9 sections: Single Units, Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Phase 5, Phase 6, Phase 7 and the newly built Greenvale Park. It also claims the title of being the largest housing project completed by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

Transportation

Bus network

La Horquetta's bus network provides extensive service across the neighborhood, as well as to the borough center of Arima in central Arima, and to the country's capital city of Port of Spain. Nearly all bus lines serving La Horquetta terminate there; most do so at the last stop for the La Horquetta route at the Phase 7 bus stop.

There is also an extensive Yellow School Bus servicing the Primary Schools and Early Childhood learning centers in the neighborhood as well as the outskirts.

Major roadways

• Churchill–Roosevelt Highway is a major highway network north of La Horquetta that links the neighborhood with Port of Spain on the westbound lane and Valencia on the eastbound lane.
• Tumpuna Road is a main road linking the neighborhood to Arima on the northbound lane and Brazil on the southbound lane.
• De Freitas Boulevard is the main road that links the northern phases of the neighborhood with the southern phases.

Education

La Horquetta's public schools are operated by the Ministry of Education. There are no secondary or high schools in La Horquetta. Public primary schools in La Horquetta include La Horquetta North Government School and La Horquetta South Government School.

La Horquetta has La Horquetta Early Childhood Care And Education Center.

Infrastructure

Health

The La Horquetta health center is a government-owned health facility for the neighborhood, located in Phase 3 next to the Post Office, and is the only health facility in the La Horquetta neighborhood.

Community facilities

• La Horquetta Community Swimming Pool, located on Slinger Francisco Boulevard in Phase 4, La Horquetta and is open to the public 6 days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Saturday: 11:30 AM – 6:30 AM)
• La Horquetta Regional Complex, located on Marjorie Padmore Avenue in Phase 2 is a multi-purpose center use for meetings, conferences and neighborhood games.
• Phase 7 Basketball Court
• Phase 5 Pavilion
• La Horquetta Village Plaza
• La Horquetta Steel Drum Complex
• La Horquetta Police Station

Churches

There are 6 established churches in the neighborhood.

• La Horquetta Roman Catholic Church (Phase 3)
• La Horquetta Seventh Day Adventist Church (Phase 2)
• La Horquetta Gospel Foundation Church (Phase 4)
• Corner Stone Pentecostal Church (Phase 7)
• Church of Resurrection (Phase 3)
• La Horquetta Deliverance Temple (Sandpiper Avenue)
• True Worshipers Assembly (C.O.G.O.P) (Phase 4)
• Church of God (Prophecy Avenue)
• Christian Brethren Assemble

Crime

Before 2012 when Neighborhood Watch was installed into the neighborhood, La Horquetta was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Arima and Trinidad and Tobago on the whole. Since then the crime and murder rate in the neighborhood has slown down drastically almost to a point of it being non-existent.

According to a Sunday Newsday count there has been a steady decrease in murders:

• 2011, seven murders, including the triple murder of Vonetta Haynes-Reyes and her children Malik, eight, and Makasi, five, on July 21;
• 2012, six murders, including the double murder of Jamal Jack and Joel Mayers on April 9;
• 2013, five murders;
• 2014, two murders;
• 2015, two murders

Notable residents

• Jamal Gay