At times, we find ourselves questioning whether our political leaders, regardless of party affiliation, can truly rise above the constraints inherited from the colonial era. Consider the recurring theme of parking meters – a topic that has been sung about for years. During the previous administration’s 2016-2021 term, they assured us that the meters were safely stored at SLASPA’s warehouses on the docks, yet not a single meter was installed during their tenure.
The current administration faced its own challenges when attempting to locate those elusive parking meters. Thankfully, they were located being under the watchful eyes of SLASPA’s security (where they should have been, anyway!) and placed on sidewalks around Castries’ shopping center. Unfortunately, they have remained non-operational since being installed.
Our leaders are either hesitant or incompetent to address the chaos in the Castries’ business district, where drivers vie for parking space – some even daring to use sidewalks. The average Saint Lucian often struggles to find a spot for a quick 10 to 15-minute transaction in the city center. One wonders whether there has been in the recent past (or indeed at all) any study resulting in long term plans to repair our Capital City from its dysfunctional state into a modern metropolis catering for all users. For example, what proportion of parking spaces are taken up by transport buses, many staying- put for hours at a time. Has a central bus terminal ever been thought of?
Why not utilise the city’s parking spaces to generate revenue? Such income could significantly assist the Castries City Council (CCC) in meeting its obligations without relying heavily on Central Government funding.
Whilst we believe that the introduction of parking meters in Castries would be a step toward better parking management and revenue generation we caution against any haphazard unthought out exercise. By implementing a properly thought out plan, Saint Lucia can enhance its infrastructure while ensuring fair access to parking spaces thus revitalizing a moribund capital.
Having said that, we encourage the Castries Constituency Council to stay focused on plans to better manage parking in the city and to move a bit quicker in making operational the already installed parking meters because they will indeed make parking more convenient and affordable for all.
Too much time we believe, has been lost in the installation process, if that is the reason for the inoperable state of the meters today. The traffic congestion in the city is not improving.
Additionally, we call on the Council to ensure that the parking meters, standing like sentinels in the city, are modern ones that operate wirelessly as they will be easier to handle, save time, and cost less in maintenance. They must be able to handle various payment options including credit cards, coins, paper money, debit cards, etc. From what we have seen, the terminals seem to be able to withstand weather conditions. We hope they could withstand heavy use as well.
To conclude, we believe that the Council owes the city an explanation for the length of time the meters have been inoperable. Tell us the reason/s, Madam Mayor, why the meters are unworkable today? There must be a reason or reasons for this, after all, the city is crying out for some sort of order to the vehicular/pedestrian chaos it suffers from every work day of the week.
A promise of a general plan for the future would give all of us users of the facilities of the capital hope for the future.
Were the city council to publish the number of on street parking spaces available and then to indicate whether the spaces were for general use or reserved for privileged persons, it would come as no surprise to find that the vast majority of spaces in the city are indeed for those persons who are deemed to be so important that they have to have a space allocated for their exclusive use.
Added to the abuse of Off-loading zone spaces and the final example of inequality whereby those with money to spare are able to ‘purchase’ a spot of prime real estate around Derek Walcott Square to save them the indignity of having to walk from the City Car Park or elsewhere.
Come on City Council – sort yourselves out and stop this privileged parking. Why not allocate a few floors at the City Car Park for those from the higher echelons of Society and let them walk to their offices whilst the parking spaces are used for the shoppers and visitors
Finally get a grip of the yellow lines fiasco, which is a very poorly effected copy of the UK system that has been setup with zero knowledge of how such a system is operated in UK Towns and Cities