Dear Editor,
Pedestrians in Georgetown attempting to practise road safety by walking on the sidewalks and pavements rather than the busy roadways are confronted with what can only be described as an endurance obstacle course, thanks to the Mayor and City Council.
First one has to navigate around countless itinerant vendors, some with tables, some with trays and others with significant structures, most of which are permanent.
But now and more significantly, persons walking along Regent, Robb, Charlotte, Water, Camp and many other streets in downtown Georgetown are faced with rising and falling pavements. This is because the city council gives individual business owners permission on a case by case basis to raise their pavements and entryways. How unwise.
If permission has to be given because of concerns for flooding, etc, then there must be a benchmark with a standard height that would allow the pavement to resume one conventional level after all the businesses have raised their entryways and sidewalks.
At the moment some are raised 10, some 12, some 18 inches and higher. This causes many persons to fall if not paying careful attention to the pavement they are traversing. Heaven knows what happens to the blind and physically challenged. This is because the citizens of Guyana are not in the habit of suing the city and the business owners.
The city council needs to step up and take public safety seriously.
Yours faithfully,
Sean Moniz
