Police will be out in full force in San Fernando from today, in order to curb illegal vending along High Street.
San Fernando Mayor Robert Parris had given the vendors a reprieve during the Christmas season and told them they would have to leave before January 15th, 2024.
The removal of the vendors comes after the mayor received numerous complaints about blocked pavements, hindering of pedestrians and traffic and garbage left on the streets over the last five months.
He is seeking to establish alternate vending zones away from the city centre.
However, President of the High Street Vendors Association, Cheryl Lawrence, wants the Mayor to reconsider that decision.
She said vending on Mucurapo Street and Harris Promenade would be problematic and she is appealing to Mayor Parris not to remove them from the heart of San Fernando.
“If they put vendors by the train, everybody cannot go there because the space is too small,” she said.
Mayor Parris said that the vendors were given five months to propose an alternative and failed to do so. While he is open to dialogue, he emphasised the effect of illegal vending on legitimate merchants and store owners.
“We have to remember there are more persons affected by this than just the vendors. There are merchants, legitimate businesses who are affected,” Parris said.
“We told them that on the 15th of January, we would stop High Street vending. We sent out a circular and they never made an alternate proposal for me to take to the business chambers. We are within our rights to move these vendors.”
Parris said street vending had become unmanageable and this led to the creation of designated vending zones. He proposed using the area near the train and the old bandstand to facilitate some vendors, ensuring a facelift can be done to the city while strictly regulating all vending.