Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan yesterday officially approved the Georgetown Metered Parking bylaws and drivers will have to pay from today to park in certain areas of the city.
Bulkan’s signature on the document, delivered during the Mayor and City Council’s statutory meeting yesterday, gives Smart City Solutions (SCS) the “go ahead” to charge citizens of Georgetown for parking in those areas where meters have been placed. SCS had intended to begin charging from yesterday, but when it became public that such an action would be illegal, without Bulkan having signed the law, chose to delay the implementation until he had done so.
On Sunday, Bulkan told Stabroek News that it would “be imprudent for the company to (institute paid parking) in the absence of the approval (of the bylaws) by the central government through the Ministry of Communities.”
He had explained that he received the by-laws on Friday last and the legal advisor of the ministry was reviewing the document, a process he expected to last for at least two days after which he would respond immediately to the Mayor and City Council.
Last evening, the minister told this newspaper that he had learned that the bylaws were previously vetted by the Attorney General’s Chambers so he could find no grounds for withholding his signature.
Kit Nascimento, spokesman for SCS later told Stabroek News that the company would now begin the paid parking.
“We delayed because we respected the fact that minister had voiced concerns,” he said adding that the company “would do nothing in violation of the law.”
On Sunday, Nascimento explained that the company was unaware that the bylaws had not been approved by the minister. For weeks it had been reported that January 23, would be the day on which paid parking would begin and City Hall had indicated that it intended to apply to the Minister of Communities for confirmation of bylaws after a period of public inspection which extended from Wednesday, December 28, 2016 up to Monday, January 10, 2017.
Yesterday, Town Clerk Royston King told media operatives that a lack of response from the public during this period caused the council to extend the period for consultation.
“We wanted to give the public more time to engage in discussions on the bylaws so we extended the consultation period to January 20, 2017 and this led to the delay in the submission,” he said. He added that despite the extension the council received no complaints or concerns from any entity.
The parking meters bylaws were approved by council on December 12, 2016 for a controversial project meant to be implemented in two phases. The first phase is 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, approximately 163 meters would be installed to cover 4,000 spaces.
The meters are operational from Monday to Saturday, from 7 am to 7 pm. Parking costs $50 per 15-minute period. Already the disposable pre-paid geo-park cards are sold out at many of the retailers.