Dear Editor,
The parking meters are here adding to the welcome physical transformation of the city: orderliness, cleanliness and beauty are gradually replacing chaos, filth and tatter. All of this, however, comes with a price. Are we as Guyanese willing to pay the price? At this time the answer seems to be a resounding no! Should this be the solution? Can a workable compromise be reached? I believe there is still time for Smart City Solutions (SCS) to take the magnanimous step of amending the pricing structure. This may lead to the public softening their rhetoric, and becoming more amenable to paying for the resources consumed.
Instead of having one pricing structure for all times and areas, SCS may wish to consider introducing an ‘all day ticket’ retailing at probably $500, in addition to the current ticket of $50 for fifteen minutes parking time. This would allow vehicle owners to park in any allowable space for the day. Shoppers would find this realistically convenient since at the moment they would have to purchase a ticket for every stop they make, should they be required to visit different parts of the city. Office workers may find that this cost is more affordable than currently obtains and would be encouraged to utilize the parking spaces that are now apparently being boycotted. Simul-taneously, it would reduce to some extent the operational cost of SCS since fewer tickets would need to be printed. With 3,237 parking spaces available this could generate at a minimum half a billion dollars ($500,000,000) in revenue per annum of which the city would receive one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000).
SCS and the city may be concerned at the real possibility that parking spaces would not be turned over fast enough and congestion recurs. To mitigate this risk, a simple three-tiered zoning system could be introduced. For example the 3,237 parking spaces could be grouped into Red, Yellow and Green zones. The Red zone would be areas in the commercial heart of the city, the Yellow zone, areas with less traffic flow: Main Street, Waterloo Street, Carmichael Street, etc, the Green Zone would be special areas around public buildings and public spaces, etc. Each of these zones could have a different rate for 15 minutes of parking: the Red zone $50, the Yellow zone $30 and the Green zone $15. All day parking tickets could also be restricted to the Yellow and Green zones only.
Introducing the tiered structure along with the restrictions on the areas in which all day parking is allowed, would in my opinion, significantly increase the potential revenue that could be earned, bringing it closer to one billion dollars per year. I believe that this structure could easily be implemented, given the sophisticated nature of the Smart meters that have been deployed by SCS.
It is my hope that other citizens would offer additional suggestions, and SCS would consider those suggestions, and arrive at an acceptable compromise to all concerned.
Yours faithfully,
Loris Nathoo
