The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) yesterday sounded warnings about the government’s plan to cover city canals to provide parking, while noting that they were not consulted on the move.
According to the M&CC Public Relations Officer Royston King, such a move has “financial, health and other implications” that have made the Council uneasy.
He noted that although the Council is comprised of the representatives of the people, they were not consulted on the proposal, which was announced by the Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon on Wednesday.
Luncheon, at a press briefing, said the Avenue of the Republic and Croal Street canals in the city would be covered with temporary bridges to convert them to parking lots so as to alleviate traffic congestion in the city. The proposal was the brainchild of Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, who suggested the plan to ease the parking congestion in the downtown area.
According to King, the proposal was brought to the Council’s attention after it was seen in the local media and it has no information about time frames, objectives, engineering and technical logistics, risks or benefits relating to the proposed initiative. The M&CC should be properly informed and allowed to take part in major projects, King said, since this project will add or take away value from the economy and general welfare of the city.
However, he noted that the M&CC are requesting that the government does a more in-depth study and consult with all stakeholders since they are convinced that the covering of canals could not be the solution to the problem of increased vehicle importation—the reason cited for the move—and could trigger other issues.
In addition, King said the M&CC is inquiring if the parking over city canals is free then who will stand the expenses, and, if it is paid parking, who will be responsible for the collection of the revenue.
He said the Council noted that if this initiative is permitted, there would be serious financial implications because there would be need for more resources by the city, since the covers would have to be taken out and later replaced every time the canals need cleaning. This initiative would also trigger implications for solid waste management, he added, while noting that the Council had tried this approach to facilitate parking on South Road and what city officials observed was that persons were removing the covers and dumping garbage into the canals.
Luncheon had said that while the structural dynamics of the covers had not yet been worked out, they should be able to be moved to allow for cleaning or desilting of the canals when necessary. He also noted that while Cabinet has found favour in the proposal, Ali was given a directive by government to hold consultations with the public to get feedback and proposals before the project is initiated.
