Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter
DONALDSON
WESTERN BUREAU:
MOTORISTS IN Montego Bay will, by May 16, have to pay to park their vehicles along selected streets in the city.
Ian Reid, secretary/manager at the St. James Parish Council, said that under the system motorists will be required to purchase permits at a cost of $50.00 per hour. The Parish Council expects to earn approximately $140,000 per month from the exercise.
Noting that this was not the first time the city will have parking meters, Mayor of Montego Bay, Noel Donaldson, explained that the new venture will not be operated as a traditional parking meter system.
"We won't be having stand alone meters in the traditional sense," he said. " Years ago we had parking meters and they were vandalised. We will be having parking spaces and (motorists) will purchase a permit for a space along the corridor."
LOW-TECHNOLOGY ENDEAVOUR
The estimated $455,000 project which will start out as a low technology endeavour, with businesses along the designated corridor assisting in the process. It will eventually become automated with machines to dispense parking permits complete with the date and time.
"The technology that we are developing is one that includes what is called a point of sale technology. This will allow you to go into any participating place and they will be able to print you a ticket," Mr. Reid explained. "We also hope to have in place kiosks (where you can purchase permits) along the corridors."
The roadways for the pilot project are: Union Street, Gloucester Avenue (more popularly known as the Hip Strip) Orange Street and Strand Street.
