Parking Meter Project to resume Monday despite legal challenges

By Mark Murray

Despite three massive protests by a concerned group of citizens and two High Court orders against the parking meter by-laws and the entire project, City Hall remains steadfast on rolling out the project.

Come Monday (February 20, 2017) the parking meter project being rolled out by Smart City Solutions and the Mayor and City Council will be resuming as citizens will once again be required to pay for parking within central Georgetown.

Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green after making the announcement during a press briefing on Friday afternoon (February 17, 2017) said it is regrettable that persons are opting to protest the project rather than engage her office.

She said her doors remain open but the Council along with Smart City Solutions (SCS) will resume implementation of the parking meter project.

The Company’s Global Head of Business Development, Amir Oren announced several changes that will be made, with the aim to ease some of the concerns regarding the project.

One such change is, after eight hours or more per day, users would now be required to pay 25 dollars plus VAT as opposed to the current rate of $50 per 15 minutes plus VAT.

However, the discount would not be applicable to those wishing to park for 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.

According to the SCS Global Head of Business Development, the company will be allowing persons 15 minutes to renew their parking receipt before a vehicle is clamped.