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Lee Sing unruffled by Govt poaching his plans for city

Melissa Doughty
Published: 
Tuesday, January 8, 2013

 

Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing said in a telephone interview yesterday he does not care whether or not the Government shoots down his plans, then reintroduces them, as long as it is done in the public’s interest.
 
Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday the mayor was asked how he felt about Government seeking to use his plan to ban glass bottles during Carnival. Last year Lee Sing proposed that no drinks in glass bottles should be sold in the capital city on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
 
However, Lee Sing’s plan received strong criticism from the public and Government alike and was not put into operation. 
 
It has been reported that the police, beverage makers and other stakeholders are now considering a policy to regulate glass bottles for Carnival 2013. 
 
“It matters not who the idea comes from. It matters not who is the author of the idea, once the Government of the day recognises it has a responsibility to its citizens,” Lee Sing said yesterday. 
 
He said he is happy that Government is moving to ban glass bottles on the streets for Carnival 2013 since it means fewer people would be maimed or wounded during Carnival altercations. 
 
“The Government has a track record in relation to suggestions coming from the mayor and the city of Port-of-Spain,” he said.
 
He said ideas originating from the city are first shot down and then the Government, he said, quietly tries to introduce them.  
 
Lee Singh said it does not matter that the park-and-ride scheme was not initially used when he suggested it two years ago, but hoped the Government would reintroduce the system, which was implemented for the first time for Christmas to reduce traffic congestion.
 
He said he hoped to re-engineer the central business district and pedestrianise the city for 2013. Also, from Hart and Frederick Streets to Independence Square north, Lee Sing said, he plans to introduce a creative programme to address street vending which would “return the serenity and peace” to Port-of-Spain. 
 
With traffic barred, Lee Sing plans to construct and rent booths to vendors and mandate a code of conduct to make sure they were maintained.  
 
Port-of-Spain would also be beautified with greenery and equipped with tables and chairs for relaxation, he said. 
 
He also plans to continue his work with the Citizens for Conservation group to transform Lapeyrouse Cemetery into a walk-in museum. He could not give a timeline for this project.
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