In a letter in the February 2nd edition of Stabroek News entitled `No parking for taxpayers at new GRA location’, Ms Nadia Burke related the tribulations she endured while trying to find parking close to the new Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Headquarters on Camp Street. After much circling and being debarred from the hastily cobbled together GRA parking lot at the western corner of Quamina and Camp Sts, Ms Burke was forced to park near to Church Street. Ms Burke rightly asks about the thought process that went into the selection of the GRA location. The answer would likely be that very little consideration went into the decision.
With the CLICO scandal on its hands, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) managed to claw back this gigantic building as an offset of the large sum still owed to it by CLICO. With no real prospect of a profitable sale and facing a deficit in its operations, the NIS would no doubt have been pleased that the GRA would come forward and offer to rent the building. Why the GRA would rent instead of an outright purchase at a sensible price is baffling. The public is also still to be told how much of taxpayers’ money the GRA will be paying in rental per month and whether that makes any sense.
The matter at hand however is parking. Camp Street has historically been one of the busiest arteries in the city and the growing number of vehicles on the road each year compounds the situation. When the GRA decided to centralize its operations at this ill-starred building it must have been aware of the enormous parking needs of its staff and those of members of the public who have all sorts of business to transact with the GRA. Yet there was no plan at the outset for this. The western section of Camp Street between Quamina and Middle Sts now presents a serious traffic problem and a hazard for a large part of the working day. And in a true reflection of the enterprising Guyanese spirit, food vans are already serving customers and passers-by all types of fare opposite the building, further exacerbating the problem.
Thus far, the GRA’s answer has been to press into use the empty lot which has been made available to it by a member of the public but only for the use of its staff. It would be good practice for the GRA to also explain the terms of this arrangement.
The absurdity of the erecting of large buildings which make no provision for parking is now perfectly reflected in the GRA’s occupation of the Camp Street lot. No permission should ever be granted by the city for construction of huge buildings which don’t cater for off-road parking. This should be clearly inscribed in its by-laws and the regulations for the approval of building plans. There should also be a specific prohibition in the Municipal and District Councils Act. It is anathema to urban planning for these gigantic building to be permitted without room for parking. Both the city and the Ministry of Local Government should take the blame for this. Neither has shown any recognition of the problem or an intention to act. The besieged citizens of the city are left to their own devices and have to try the best they can to eke out parking here and there and sometimes under risky circumstances.
The slapdash parking lot put together for GRA staff at Camp and Quamina is an eyesore and another nail in the coffin of attempts to preserve the uniqueness and charm of the avenue-split streets of the city. When was any part of Camp Street or a residential section of any part of the city zoned for parking lots? There is already one such on Regent and Camp for Republic Bank and it appears that more are to follow.
An even grander building is now in the finishing stages at the western side of Camp and Lamaha Sts. It is unclear what the purpose of this building is but one thing is very clear from its contours: there is no provision for parking. So at another brutal junction commuters and users will likely be grazing fenders to get about their daily routines. Two lots close to the building, one on Camp Street and the other on Lamaha Street have been cleared of their aging structures. Will they, too, be enlisted into this business of primitive parking lots? So that Camp and Lamaha will now be scarred with parking lots to service these buildings? Is this any way to plan orderly development or preserve a semblance of respect for zoning rules? Many more buildings have gone up, the southeastern corner of Camp and Regents Sts is a perfect example, without accommodation for parking and many others will go up. What are the city fathers and mothers and the Ministry of Local Government planning to do about them?