Suddie needs a car park

Dear Editor,
The Region 2 administration should provide a suitable alternative site for the Suddie car park. With so much idle land ideally suited for this purpose within the area, it casts a poor reflection on the authorities to see the sides of the road and the parapet by the market junction being used to accommodate vehicles.

As a consequence of the limited space and with an increase in the number of vehicles almost every day, there is too much congestion and confusion, representing a traffic hazard. A portion of the parapet has also been encroached upon illegally by nearby business owners, making it all the more difficult for drivers to get parking space.

With so many conspicuous signs by the roadside warning that the nearby hospital is a silent zone, it was not the right place from the very inception to have parking, especially when disorderly behaviour, cursing and noise nuisance are also very much in evidence.
A day hardly passes without drivers complaining about harassment by traffic ranks for committing offences within the cramped parking area. The drivers so affected have bluntly refused to pay a ticket fine and have been defending the charges instituted against them in court.  Such incidents could well have been avoided by having a proper parking facility.

For more than a decade now, approaches have been made to the relevant authorities to have a new site, but for some reason nothing is being done.

A spanking new park can be seen in the Anna Regina town, and a similar one for the Suddie area should be given priority this year, the earlier the better.
Yours faithfully,
Baliram Persaud