This year has been seeing much uproar from individuals of the public concerning the towing of cars from streets in Port-of-Spain. There is talk on television talk shows, on celebrity blogs and now the newspapers are publishing letters of concern from the public. As highlighted in one particular letter in the Daily Express on Saturday 17th March 2012, there appears to be a flaw in the systems that exist within the city currently. Parking is usually available between 7:00a.m. and 5:00p.m. at most car parks. The city however, continues to function outside of these hours. The centralisation of commercial and recreational activities within the focal point for most of the island draws persons to Port-of-Spain for various reasons at varying hours of the day. Port-of-Spain and environs provides a fully comprehensive range of facilities so that those from around the area seldom have to leave to access necessary or leisure activities. One would assume that in the nation’s capital, there would be well structured transportation systems and routes, as well and adequate parking for city goers.
The increase in the quantity of vehicle being towed is a move by the Mayor of Port-of-Spain and the City Corporation to reduce the traffic that afflicts the capital city. As such, many motorists are being towed during the day and night. Granted that the abundance of vehicles parked on the streets at any given time, there is this problem because of a lack of designated parking spaces. If there is no space in which motorists can safely park their vehicles, one would then assume that the best place would be an available space closest to where they are headed in the city.
This problem can possibly be linked to the underdeveloped ways in which urban systems overlap and connect with each other. Car parks close early because there is no confidence and no reliance on the ability of the police service to keep these areas secured. Security for car parks, if any at all, is privately funded. Police patrols along the side streets of the city is relatively non-existent and if there is any police presence on the streets, they are usually there at high traffic time, ready to issue tickets rather that secure and guide. These perceptions though lacking statistical evidence, is a reflection of what is ethnographically experienced during city visits and appear to have some sense of plausibility when related to the problem. Again, this letter in the newspaper highlights the failure of the existing urban systems to address the needs of the public. Rather than addressing the underlying issues that result in persons parking at the side of the road, city officials resort to removing what is seen at the surface level. Everything is connected and failure to understand how they are within the nation’s capital city will continue to result in the city not functioning on a sustainable and beneficial level to all who use it.
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