The government is about to become highly unpopular

Jun 04, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The experience with the creation of parking lots in the city has demonstrated that the Guyanese people are not yet ready for that innovation. Guyanese motorists have shown that they are not prepared as yet to pay for public parking.

The City Council has controversially created a parking lot on the median that separates the eastern carriageway of East Street from the western carriageway. Apparently, the said parking lot is being administered by a private company under terms and agreement which are not fully known to the public but surely this has not been the basis on which the parking lot has been rejected by motorists.
The revenue sharing formula between the private operator and the Council is not fully known to the public. But that is not the reason why the parking lot has been rejected by the driving public.
Persons have been parking outside the perimeter of the lot and this is an indication that motorists are not prepared to pay for parking. The parking lot is being underutilized and this should have suggested to the Council that there is need to re- examine this issue.
Guyanese motorists have grown accustomed to free parking. It will take some time for them to become accustomed to having to pay for something which they have assumed should be free.
This comes at a time when changes in parking are taking place in the city. For one, there are far more cars now than ever before and the city is congested. There needs to be a total halt to the opening of new businesses in the city since there is very little parking space left.
The increase in the number of vehicles is compounded by the fact that diagonal parking has now been deemed as unlawful in the city. This has further reduced the number of parking spaces available.
The City Council is now about to introduce metered parking in the city. This will cause bedlam in Georgetown because those who for a very long time were accustomed to free parking will now find that they have to pay for the service.
The majority of motorists will not be able to afford to pay for parking. The many persons who work in firms and companies usually have to park alongside the streets of the city for eight hours or more each day. If parking has to be paid for then all of those persons who work and park in areas where metered parking is going to be introduced will be unable to do so.
A rate of $125 has been mentioned but it is not clear whether this is per day or her hour. It surely cannot be per day because this would make it unprofitable for those installing and responsible for the metering machines, so it is most likely $125 per hour which will work out to $1000 per day or $20,000 per month for the average worker.
Which employee in Guyana can afford to pay $20,000 parking per month? This will put a serious dent in the pockets of all those who are required to pay for parking in the city. City Council and the Government is about to become highly unpopular.
Some persons can hardly afford to pay for gasoline for the vehicles they drive. Petrol attendants will tell you that there are some persons driving fancy cars that are still “topping” up with a $1000 of gas. They do not have the money to pay for a full tank and therefore they are buying small quantities of gasoline as they receive money. Where are these persons going to find the money for paid parking?
Paid parking has to be a phased process in Guyana. It cannot be implemented how City Hall is proposing that it be implemented.
There is a need for the creation of parking lots in the city. There is a need for public spaces to be turned into free public parking so that there can be some way for persons to park before metered parking is introduced.  There is a need also for private persons with open lots to be allowed to charge a small fee for parking.
Metered parking cannot simply be introduced without any study as to its impact on motorists and business in the city. This will cause confusion and chaos in Georgetown.
However, just like the decision to remove the Stabroek Square vendors, it seems as if very little thought is being given to the consequences of metered parking in the city.