OVER the years, Georgetown, as well as all urban centres in our country, has seen a dramatic increase in vehicular traffic. With that increase comes the dire need for proper parking. On any given day, the central business district in the capital becomes inundated with all types of vehicles then illegal parking becomes the norm. 

It is not a situation where there isn’t enough space for vehicles to park, because there are lots of open spaces where commuters can park. However, the problem is everyone wants to be within close proximity to their place of work or business, hence they will illegally park in any available space that presents itself. With the coming Christmas season, it gets even worse when there is little or no room to manoeuvre. There would be double, sometimes even triple parking to deal with. It is a near impossible situation in downtown Georgetown. And heaven has to help us if a fire or some other emergency should take place in the main shopping area where firefighters would be hampered by a sea of illegally parked cars and the daunting task of navigating their way through it.

Now, my suggestion to solve this is the construction of a high rise car park in or around the CBD. This would bring an end to illegal parking and traffic congestion in all the urban centres. It is high time for Guyana to get into the modern era and adopt these standards where urban vehicular management is concerned.
This modern approach is found in other sister Caricom territories like Barbados, Trinidad, and even in St Lucia. The suggestion made by Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon to cover some of the gutters and waterways to ease traffic congestion in the city would only lead to further problems.
There would be clogged drains where silt and garbage would naturally build up, with the greater difficulty to unclog them. The perennial problem of flooding due to heavy siltation, coupled with non-biodegradable styrofoam and plastic, would make the city a health hazard. These factors would only add to the messy situation confronting us right now. It would compound the problem.
I call on government to erect a high rise car park and charge a small fee for use of the facility. This will genuinely solve the problem.

NEIL ADAMS