Delays in paid parking -Min Bulkan yet to approve by-laws
Paid parking has been delayed
Paid parking has been delayed

PENDING the approval of parking meter by-laws by Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan, no individual should be required to pay for parking until such is granted. The minister told the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday that he only received the by-laws on Friday from the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC). Minister Bulkan explained that the document, which is a lengthy one, was received in the midst of an all-day conference, and could not have been examined since the ministry’s legal officer was also at the conference. “We were in the midst of an all-day conference on Friday and the legal officer was there so she couldn’t devote her undivided attention to it” he said, noting that it will be reviewed today (Monday).
However, the company responsible for the implementation of the parking meter system – Smart City Solutions (SCS) – has already announced that payment for parking at marked spots, will commence from today (Monday.) When asked definitively though, if payment for parking can commence, despite no approval of the by-laws, the Minister said: “no,” reasoning that this is due to the fact that the documents need to be examined by the Ministry.
“We’re hoping to complete it by tomorrow (Monday). So given that, I don’t think the council will want to go ahead [with payment] without central government’s endorsement or approval” Minister Bulkan said.
The minister said too, that he has been in touch with the Mayor and Town Clerk, and has advised them both that the Ministry will have to go through those by-laws to satisfy itself before his approval or endorsement is given. And until such time, no fee shall be charged.
Additionally, he pointed out that these are two issues which have been identified so far by his ministry, one of which was highlighted by the Traffic Chief on Saturday. Traffic Chief, Dion Moore, in a Kaieteur News report on Sunday said that no parking should be allowed within 30 feet of a corner, as is stipulated by the law. However, numerous parking spots less than 30 feet from a corner have been demarcated by SCS and the city council.
The second issue, Minister Bulkan said, is clarification about whether any areas have been identified for busses to load and offload where there are no bus stops. “The other clarification is that I will need to establish from the council is that if there are spaces reserved for busses to deposit passengers. Because if not, that would add chaos to the streets instead of bringing back order” the Minister said.
SCS and the city council have faced criticisms since the announcement of the introduction of the parking meters last year. In addition to the belief that there is lack of transparency, the cost of $50 for 15 minutes has also been a hard pill to swallow, particularly for teachers. With an estimated cost of $25,000 per month for teachers, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has called for these meters to be removed from the vicinity of schools. However, SCS has offered a counter-proposal of issuing permits for guaranteed parking, while teachers will still be required to pay. The two bodies were scheduled to meet last week, but did not.

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1 thought on “Delays in paid parking -Min Bulkan yet to approve by-laws”

  1. teachers will still be required to pay…. ?? absurd and ridiculous bunch of idiots running this country. APNU and City Council is making sure they do all they can to put the corrupt PPP back in office.

    Will this comment be deleted like all the other comment I made than never saw daylight… or do you even have the guts to post my comment?

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