Wrecking in the capital city of Port of Spain resumes today (Wednesday 29th May 2024).
This includes areas in Port-of-Spain, Woodbrook, Ariapita Avenue, St James, and the Western Main Road.
Despite mixed views on the return of towing, Mayor Chinua Alleyne said, “We have a responsibility to play a role in law enforcement.”
The revamping of towing will be spearheaded by the City Police in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
During the council’s monthly Statutory Meeting held at City Hall, Knox Street on Tuesday, Alleyne said specific areas of focus identified included; parking on street corners, parking on pedestrian crossings, parking in front of fire hydrants, parking in front of people’s gateways and parking on bus stops.
“The other area of focus of course will be the contravention of any road marking of signage, no parking signage in particular,” he explained.
Apart from tackling the unlawful parking, the Mayor said the resumption will also assist them in their preparation for the rainy season.
If towed, the fine is set at 500 dollars, with an additional 200 dollars every day the vehicle remains impounded.
This time, the city corporation implemented a mechanism in collaboration with the TTPS that allows motorists to collect their vehicles after office hours.
“Once the impound lot has closed for the day, a member of the general public will be able to visit the Woodbrook police station to make payment and contact the city police, and the city police will open the impound lot and allow you to retrieve your vehicle,” he said.
Both the police station and the impound lot can only accept cash payments at this time and if a member of the public has an issue with their vehicle Alleyne said they can contact the City Police directly at 299-0870 extension four. The line will be available 24/7.
“The next phase now is the parking enforcement, so the signage has gone back up, we’ve sensitised the public, we move now to parking enforcement and once that’s completed we will be well on our way to implementing paid parking,” he said.