Residents of Georgetown who live in areas where parking meters will be placed are being invited to apply for discounted parking.
A notice by the Mayor and City Council in yesterday’s Stabroek News said that residents can apply at the Office of the Town Clerk from January 16th “for residential parking permits to obtain discounted parking within their respective residential areas”.
Citizens have to begin paying for use of the parking meters from January 23rd.
Questions had been raised about the arrangement for residents who live in the areas where parking meters are to be installed.
The project has engendered much controversy.
Smart City Solutions (SCS) on December 21st launched its first meter on Regent Street outside City Hall.
SCS Global Head of Business Development Amir Oren explained then that within two weeks all the infrastructural works will be completed to ensure that there is a smooth launch of the meters next year. “We want to give people time to enjoy the holidays,” he said.
In relation to concerns about parking meters being vandalized, Oren explained that they are equipped to set off an alarm if they sustain any major impact and there will also be wardens on patrol. He said the meters have been placed in cities more dangerous and safer than Georgetown and are built to last. “We are here and prepared for security and vandalism,” Oren said.
Town Clerk Royston King added that there will be about 60 wardens along with 25 constabulary workers manning the roads to ensure that the rules are adhered to and no one tampers with the meters.
Over the past two months, the company had started demarcating the areas where the meters would be placed, and had installed supporting infrastructure. Signs were mounted on steel pipes indicating the times when they would be operational.
The company has delineated spaces to eventually install an estimated 400 parking meters in the central business district of Georgetown. The M&CC will collect 20% of the gross income annually after the meters become operational.
The project is divided into two phases. The first phase expected to see the installation of 157 meters to cover 3,237 spaces, while in the second phase, expected to be implemented in the first three months of 2017, an estimated additional 163 meters will be installed to cover another 4,000 spaces.
The meters would be operational from Monday to Saturday, from 7 am to 7 pm.
The rate for the parking meters is $50 for 15 minutes and minutes will be sold via prepaid cards.
