— as Parking Meter consultations continue

CHAIRMAN of the committee renegotiating the parking meter deal, Councillor Malcolm Ferreira said the team is now looking forward to meet Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams, who is one of the main persons that must be consulted.

Ferreira told the Chronicle on Wednesday that Williams was written to and all letters regarding consultations were sent out.

Although the team has gotten no word from him as yet, some amount of success was garnered elsewhere.

He noted that Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan responded almost immediately after receiving his letter. “As it is now, we look forward to hearing from him (Williams),” said Ferreira.

Ferreira and team were supposed to have already wrapped up work on the negotiations, but the Council last month voted to give them an extension to the end of July.

In providing an update to the Council on the consultations last month, Ferreira had said that some quarters of society were not cooperating in coming forward to voice their concerns.

One single resident from the parking meter zone had turned up for consultations on the day that was set aside by the team, he recalled. Minibus and taxi drivers, too, have not cooperated as much as they should have when consultations were planned with them.

Even after a poor turnout from this group, the committee sought to set up a tent at the Stabroek Market Square and went around to personally to invite persons to share their concerns.

“The taxi drivers responded, and I am left to conclude that most minibus drivers are so busy with the hustle that they can’t take a few minutes to make a contribution, or they simply don’t care,” Ferreira said, adding, “The response from drivers was nothing near the amount that should have been present, given the fact that traffic management directly affects their livelihood.”

According to him, the committee went even further by producing a questionnaire and went to speak with operators at the bus and car parks.

TRAFFIC CONTROL

“The vast majority is of the opinion that something has to be done to correct the current traffic situation in Georgetown,” he noted.

The committee also conducted two house-to-house evening consultations with residents in the metered zones.

“We completed 345 questionnaires,” Ferreira said. “A little over 50 per cent of the taxi and bus drivers we spoke to do not live in Georgetown and 35 per cent do not own their own vehicles.

“It is sad but true that the public transportation system seems to be running on its own, more so than being controlled. It is up to us now to fix the whole system of transportation arrangements and allocation, as the simple truth is that there are more buses and cars than space is available on the parks. Hot plate is a major issue.”

He had said the committee plans to finish its house-to-house consultations, have a two-day business walkabout, and to consult with representatives of differently-abled organisations, as well as the Council’s legal team.

Meanwhile, Minister Bulkan had communicated Cabinet’s decision for a 90-day suspension of the metered parking system, but the Town Clerk had opted for legal advice to challenge the minister’s order, resulting in a majority vote by City councillors to put the order on hold.

Minister Bulkan was subsequently directed by Cabinet to immediately suspend the by-laws which govern the project.

The City Council thereafter approved a seven-member team to negotiate a revised parking meter contract with Smart City Solutions, the company to which City Hall granted the concession to install meters in the City.

Councillor Ferreira was elected chairman of the team that comprises Councillors Noelle Chow-Chee, Carlyle Goring, Tricia Richards, Ivelaw Henry, Roopnarine Persaud and Heston Bostwick.