Commentary: Paid parking in POS long overdue

Louis Lee Sing has made some outrageous decisions in his time in his various roles but his plan for paid parking in the city of Port of Spain is not one of them.

Port of Spain must be the only major city in the world where people can park their vehicles all day in a public space without paying a penny. Motorists in most major cities pay hefty fees for the privilege of parking. 

Toronto is a good example. In the downtown core, where high rise buildings are gobbling up most of the parking lots, the average price to park for the day is $20. It's even more expensive for short term parking - $3.50 to $4.50 for every 20 minutes.

In many areas where there are city parking meters you're only allowed two hours before you have to pay again or get ticketed.

And if you think that's bad, the parking lots jack up prices whenever there is a major event in the city. 

In the vicinity of the Rogers Centre (formerly the Skydome) parking lots have a special "event" rate of $30 or more. And people who prefer driving into the city instead of using public transit gladly pay the premium price.

What the mayor of Port of Spain should also be doing is working with the Transport authorities to offer people an alternative means of getting in and out of the city.

A streetcar system similar to what operates in Toronto could easily move people through the main arteries in Port of Spain so people might be encouraged to leave their cars and SUV's at "Park and Ride" lots outside the city.

Change is not something people accept readily and the mayor is going to hear a lot of grumbling over this. But he must hold his ground. Paid parking is long overdue. And not only in Port of Spain.

Surely if we could invest a quarter million dollars in a vehicle we could pay a few dollars for parking. It's part of the price we must pay for development.

Jai Parasram | Toronto