More than 30 Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) supporters parked their vehicles in the vicinity of Muneshwers on Water Street for an hour yesterday, while daring staff of the parking meter company to take action against them.
The protestors, riding on a Ministry of Public Infrastructure press release listing the streets categorized as public roadways, had gathered to, in a way, challenge the system, and what they believe to be an illegal process.
About two hours prior to the protest, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had issued a statement relating that as far as it was aware, no parking meters had been erected on streets outside of the council’s jurisdiction. Unlike the ministry’s statement, which gave the impression that the entire streets listed were public roads, M&CC’s statement provided information on how the public roads are specifically delineated.
According to M&CC’s information, therefore, some sections of those listed streets do fall under the responsibility of the City Council.
Having been circulated when it was, the protestors, who included about 18 Muneshwers employees and acting Mayor Sherod Duncan, had not yet been privy to this information.
Duncan related that the group was there to take back the streets. The vehicle protest, he explained, consisted of the members parking their cars in the area to see whether they would be “illegally clamped” as the streets weren’t designated parking spaces. Following any such occurrence, legal action would be filed.
“It’s great news that Mr Patterson [Minister of Public Infrastructure David] has made an official statement about the ownership of this road here, which is allowing us to protest directly on the road, which is not council property,” Manager of Muneshwers Usha Patel stated.
Patel noted that employees and customers who usually park in the area have been affected by the parking meter placements, revealing that employees who own vehicles have resorted to taking the bus rather than driving to work.
“We have staff that park here. We have customers that park here. We have goods that are unpacked and loaded up into vehicles and all we get on a daily basis is, ‘hurry up, the meter is running.’ It’s unfair for customers, it’s unfair for our staff and it’s unfair for anybody doing business at our business,” the woman said.
The vehicle protest lasted from 2 pm to 3 pm and although a Smart City Solutions worker was seen standing just opposite where the protest was taking place, he made no move to clamp the vehicles. Motorists that drove past Muneshwers slowed down and blew their horns in support, with some even stopping their vehicles momentarily to collect MAPM bumper stickers.
The M&CC statement further clarified that the public roads are the Railway Embankment Road; Clive Lloyd Drive; Rupert Craig Highway – Russian Embassy to Cummings Lodge; UG Access Road; Water Street – sluice (by PM&HD Workshop) to Sea Wall; Battery Road – Water Street to High Street; Sea Wall Road – High Street to Vlissingen Road; Young Street; Barrack Street -Camp Street to Parade Street; Camp Road – Lamaha Street to Sea Wall Road; Fort Street -Wright’s Lane to Battery Road; Vlissingen Road – Sea Wall Road to Hadfield Street; Irving Street – Lamaha Street to Carifesta Avenue; Station Street – Vlissingen Road to Middleton Street; Duncan Street – Vlissingen Road to Sheriff Street; Thomas Road; Sheriff/Kitty Avenue -Homestretch to Rupert Craig Highway; Ruimveldt Avenue – Homestretch Avenue to East Bank Public Road; Houston Bypass – Mandela Avenue to East Bank Public Road and Eastern Highway – Chandranagar Street to Kamoa Street.
