Reporter
carisa.lee@cnc3.co.tt
St James and St Ann’s taxi drivers say motorists are still illegally parking on their taxi stands on Hart Street, Port-of-Spain, even after being warned by the head of the Municipal Police ACP Surendra Sagramsingh.
Workers at the Judiciary, Parliament, Hall of Justice, NALIS, Police Administration Building, and T&T Regiment were told to stop parking on the taxi stands earlier this month.
However, one of the affected taxi drivers, Jerry Sookdeo, said their appeals for help are falling on deaf ears. He complained that a woman who was illegally parked on the taxi stand verbally abused him.
“This morning I talk to a lady just to tell she to drive up a little bit for I to go into the line she cuss and gone. She park up right there and she gone. A woman with a white car,” he said.
The taxi stands are located on opposite sides of Hart Street but by midday yesterday the taxis had been unable to occupy their designated spots because of the unlawful parking.
A driver who did not want to be identified said sometimes only six taxis could fit on the stand, causing chaos and inconvenience.
“You have to double park on the outside,” he said.
Another taxi driver said police officers are among those parking illegally on the taxi stands.
“We see them going into their vehicles to get stuff and thing like that and then going in town to share a ticket. I mean come on, make it make sense,” he said.
When contacted, Sagramsingh said more decisive action would be taken, including the use of the U-Turn Traffic Enforcement E-ticketing system.
He said other taxi stands are gaining the attention of the police, including the Maraval taxi stand.