An incident earlier this week involving Port-of-Spain businesswoman Julie Persad and the police has put the contentious issues of wrecking of cars and the chronic shortage of parking space back in the national spotlight.
Once again there is furious debate over a problem that has existed for many years and is getting from bad to worse.
The irony is that wrecking is the one area where the T&T Police Service (TTPS) functions with efficiency and consistency.
The widely-held public view is that this is because there is profit in it for the police and the operators of the wreckers.
In response to criticisms and questions raised over the past few days, the TTPS issued a statement seeking to clarify the regulations governing enforcement of parking laws and the circumstances in which vehicles are wrecked.
This has raised a fresh set of questions and concerns, particularly the regulation that states that before a vehicle is towed away, the police officer must make brief enquiries in the immediate vicinity to locate the driver "within a reasonable time and distance."
If found, the driver should be asked to remove the vehicle and charges can be laid for the parking violation.
The question is, are these procedures being scrupulously followed, or are vehicles simply being picked up and hauled away with no real efforts being made to locate the driver?
Also, is wrecking the only way to deal with parking violations? Is it the most effective deterrent and have those ongoing exercises, which attract a penalty of $500 for motorists, eased traffic congestion in the nation's capital? It may be time to revisit the matter of parking and wrecking. Perhaps other solutions can be explored, such as clamping, parking meters, or even fixed penalty tickets.
This is a matter that should be treated with some urgency since Port-of-Spain has been mired in a parking crisis for quite some time with no relief in sight.
There are simply not enough legitimate parking spaces to support the level of activity that takes place in the city.
All available parking facilities are operating at maximum capacity, including the Government Campus Plaza Parkade, although the building it services is not yet open.
Gregory Aboud, head of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (Doma), has been complaining for years about how the lack of parking is strangling the city. He has even described the situation as being more serious than crime and still his cries seem to be falling on deaf ears.
Long-promised solutions are yet to materialise, including the building of more parking facilities and establishment of a reliable transit system.
The only effort so far has been a park and ride initiative and that was temporary, offered only during the busy Christmas shopping season.
While there has been talk of decentralising more government and commercial services, the fact remains that Port-of-Spain is the capital of T&T, the seat of government and centre for a range of administrative and commercial activities.
For that very important reason, an urgent solution is needed for the vexing problem of no parking and plenty wrecking.