Residents of East Street are appealing to the authorities to discontinue the paid parking lot recently set up by the city and for the removal of the steel barricades that were erected.
In a letter in Saturday’s edition of Stabroek News, 100 residents pleaded for President David Granger to have the paid parking lot ended. It appears that the paid parking is a cost recovery measure by the city.
The letter stated that the Government of Guyana, in collaboration with the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown and the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), had asphalted over the lawns and the pedestrian footpath between the eastern and western halves of northern East Street with the intention of providing improved parking facilities for doctors, nurses, students, employees of the GPHC and visitors to the institution and neighbouring establishments.
While the area provided a facility for residents who lived in the back houses without a driveway along East Street, the new addition of the pay for parking has been hindering the residents of the area. “Now where are we supposed to park? The entire parking lot takes up most of the space and it’s a lot of residents,” one of the residents stated, pointing out that at nights the road area is usually packed with cars.
The letter added: “The additional tax of ‘pay for parking’ in Guyana is overwhelming, as we continue to work tirelessly for the development of Guyana by paying property rates and taxes and Value Added Tax, as well as make payments to the National Insurance Scheme and Pay As You Earn tax scheme… By disassembling the East Street paid parking area, thousands of Guyanese will be once again be benefiting from the generosity of the Government of Guyana, as we live in an environment of peace and justice with adequate security and freedom while we seek free medical care from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the opportunity to enjoy a better life for all Guyanese.”
Not only residents have condemned the parking lot. Frequent visitors to the GPHC have also expressed their disappointment. “I don’t know why they would even do that. The price is too high. It doesn’t make any sense and nobody is going to want to use it. Parking is already a huge issue in and around the city and now you’re making people pay for it? It doesn’t make sense,” a driver reasoned.
