The Lamaha corridor, which is being transformed into an urban recreational space is not a “decorated parking lot,” Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill has said, adding that vehicular parking on the enhanc-ed space is only temporary as some “details” are currently being worked out with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
According to Edghill, under whose ministry the project falls, the details that are currently being worked out will resolve the parking issue in a matter of months.
Work on that stretch of reserve commenced last year following a city-wide clean-up campaign spearheaded by President Irfaan Ali, who had stated that it was his desire to make the city family-oriented, “where…we can build, not only a relationship between families, but relationships between communities.”
Edghill had recently told this publication that the space would be developed to allow people to exercise, relax and engage in recreational activities. “It is one way of bringing development to the urban centre. The section is from High Street going all the way past Vlissingen road passing behind the gas station on Sheriff Street. It is a space where people can walk, ride, exercise … it is a whole network where you can have access to the seawall and come down Camp Street, come down Vlissingen, come down Lamaha street…” the minister explained.
He pointed out that work is continuing on the section between High and Parade streets, which once housed the old train station. This area will host art galleries and food huts offering authentic Guyanese foods. Questions have been raised about the financing of the project, but Edghill had disclosed last year that no procurement procedure had been breached as the labour is being covered by full-time staff from the “force account” at his ministry. He added that the private sector was playing its part through the supply of materials.
Ali had also stated that his government was working on a number of plans focusing on urban renewal and the subsequent transformation of the city. “The city of Georgetown is not a huge city… One of the beauties about this city is that it is a walking city. Which means that you can walk easily around the city and get your business done, but you have to walk in an environment that is safe, in an environment that is clean, in an environment that is conducive and that is what we will be creating,” Ali had declared.
“It’s [about] starting to build a new culture, a new approach, the way we treat the environment and the way we treat each other. The environment is a demonstration of who we are, how we value each other.”
In 2009, squatters had been removed from the railway embankment as the presence of high tension electrical wires was declared hazardous to life. Sometime later, it was announced that a section of the area would be used to facilitate parking for the GRA. However, this was later scrapped and in May 2013, the then minister of Public Works Robeson Benn had revealed that it was going to be used as temporary parking lots for local businesses. Later that same year, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) had also objected to the reserve, east of Camp Street, being converted into a parking lot. Then CEO of GPL Bharrat Dindyal had written to the previous PPP/C government warning about the danger that activity would pose. However, this warning was overridden by Benn, who declared that any associated risk was low. Benn had also clarified that the decision to operate a parking lot on the reserve was geared to-wards reducing traffic congestion on Camp Street.
