City Hall has relaunched a campaign to have “encumbrances,” including derelict vehicles, removed from city streets and roadsides following the recent death of a motorist, whose vehicle crashed into a truck parked along Princes Street.
“The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will recommence an aggressive campaign which aims at the removal of all derelict vehicles and other encumbrances from roadsides, sidewalks, parapets and reserves belonging to the City,” it said in a press statement on Tuesday.
It noted that owners of the vehicles and encumbrances removed in this manner will be also be fined for the removal and storage of the material.
South Ruimveldt resident Trevon Butters, 35 also known as ‘Yankee,’ died after the car he and his partner, Natasha Sobers, were travelling in crashed into the rear of a truck, GFF 9764, which was parked on the northern side of the Princes Street. While Butters was killed, Sobers remains hospitalised.
“The owner of the vehicle GFF 9764 was given notices verbally and in writing to remove the derelict vehicle,” Public Relations Officer Debra Lewis later said in a letter, published on February 8th after the truck was erroneously identified as an M&CC vehicle by this newspaper.
Lewis reminded that M&CC had carried out campaigns in 2016, 2017 and 2018 in several city areas, “including Alberttown, Kitty, Lodge, Wortmanville, Bel Air and Campbellville, to remove obstructions from the public pathway.
It added that the council, through the City Engineer’s Department, has also served notices on several owners of mechanic shops and spray painting shops who have extended their businesses onto roadsides.
However, while some citizens applauded the efforts of the council to remove obstructions, there were those who severely criticised the work and opined that the actions of the council were too harsh, Lewis stated.
In its statement on Tuesday, the M&CC said it has instructed the City Engineer Colvern Venture to do an audit of the vehicles stored on the council’s reserves and parapets throughout the city.
On Monday, the M&CC instructed Venture to begin removing vehicles and to continue until such time as he runs out of space to store them.
He has also been instructed to target those individuals who store other materials, such as builders’ waste and sand and stones, as they often block access to and clog drains in the city.
