Lee Sing: No apologies for new trafic plan

Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing says he will not apologise to the St James and Woodbrook business owners who have complained of losses since the implementation of the new traffic plan. Lee Sing was speaking with reporters yesterday after the Port-of-Spain Corporation’s Interfaith Service at Woodford Square. The service was in commemoration of T&T’s 50th anniversary of Independence.

Changes to the traffic flow have also been made to several streets in Woodbrook and St James to ease congestion in that part of the city. The mayor said many people do not adapt to change and this was the reason businessmen were protesting loss of business.

He said: “I have no reason to apologise. If I am not free to make statements like the rest of the country, then there is one rule for the country and one for me. It was a considered decision. I know economics and I know business. I don’t want a business to close. “I am not denying what they said...I find it extremely difficult in the face of the evidence. There is nothing that warrants people’s businesses declining. People can park on the side street and main road as they have always done.”

Lee Sing said if business owners lose 70 per cent of their customers after eight days, then they had no business before that. “There are no reasons why they should lose that amount of business...I don’t know what are the issues and why they are losing their business,” he said.

Referring to Marlene McDonald’s statement on Tuesday night that the mayor’s position on the traffic plan was not that of the PNM party, he said: “When I see the Member of Parliament for Port-of-Spain South (McDonald) making these ridiculous statements, I have noting to say on it. I pray God will light her path and brighten her day. People are always opposed to change.

“I was part of the traffic programme and some have backtracked but you don’t hear them saying anything. I stand by the decisions which we took. This was after tremendous consultations. Now we are seeing the weaknesses, what do we do?”
Lee Sing said there were consultations with taxi drivers, the police, business owners and residents before the plan. “We will tweak it and give new life,” he said.

He also said the return of the athletes from the Olympic Games was marred by those who wanted to score political points. “Their return was spoilt by those who seek to score some cheap political points to create confusion,” he said. “We need to be considerate about how we do things. How do we truly reward our athletes who have done well? What is criteria of measurement and how will we reward these people?”

He said only one athlete was rewarded but others who contributed just as much did not receive anything. “How do you reward the men of our 4x4 relay team? This is their second Olympics and they did just as well. These young athletes have committed their lives to the national flag. Aren’t they entitled to a house too? If you going to give them houses then we need to build a park and spend time to build a place where all our athletes will be housed for the next 50 years.”

Lee Sing said there was no policy in place and it causes mass confusion. With regards to our upcoming Independence celebrations, Lee Sing said it was not commemorated with the same passion as it had been some 50 years ago. “Today as we celebrate, I fear the call to nationhood is not being heard with the same gusto or passion as our people witnessed at the birth of our beautiful nation in 1962.  It is not something you normally do twice in a lifetime,” he said.