By Trudy Simpson, Staff ReporterPRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson is expected to meet this morning with representatives of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) to discuss the redevelopment of downtown Kingston, the problems of illegal vending, concerns about security and other related issues.
The meeting, scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. at Jamaica House, comes amidst complaints from merchants about lawlessness and chaos in downtown Kingston, including vendors plying their wares in no vending areas.
It follows last week's calls by the Chamber of Commerce that central Government should take over the city's management from the KSAC.
In a statement last week, the Chamber also expressed its disappointment with the KSAC's delay in implementing temporary additional vending areas and other plans for city management during the Christmas season.
While declining to talk about certain issues until after today's meeting, Chamber president, Michael Ammar, Jnr., hoped good things could come from the meeting.
"The Prime Minister called the meeting, so I don't know what he will be touching... Our position is quite clear. You have our proposal. That is what I want to come out of the meeting, acceptance that something needs to be done and those are the things that we want done," Mr. Ammar, Jnr. said yesterday.
URBAN RENEWAL PROPOSAL
The Chamber has been touting an urban renewal proposal for several months. Some of the key areas in the plan call for officials to restore and sustain adequate police personnel in the downtown commercial district in order to retake control of the streets; establish a municipal Police Force which will work with the KSAC to enforce municipal law in particular, as it relates to vending, parking, littering and other breaches of the municipal code; implement a policing strategy which will break the protection rackets and criminal gangs operating in and around downtown Kingston; repair, restore or demolish all abandoned and derelict buildings in the downtown business district and upgrade the retailing and restaurant facilities in the business district in order to bring them up to uptown Kingston standards.
In addition, the Chamber proposed undertaking a complete 'paint-up' campaign of all buildings downtown, fully implementing the KSAC market district plan and relocating all vendors to the prescribed vending areas within the market district, as well as implementing a licensing system for newspaper and fruit-type vendors to allow them to sell in prescribed areas throughout the business district.
The Chamber also recommended that the Government remove all illegally parked taxis from the Parade area and relocate them in designated bus loading bays; enforce stringently the anti-litter laws; and prosecute individuals and businesses that dump commercial garbage on the streets and empty lots downtown. Under city management, the JCC called for the KSAC to be supported and its capacity enhanced and strengthened to make it into an effective city management organisation.
The Chamber also wants legislation to be enacted to formally establish special improvement districts such as in downtown Kingston. This will allow for better management, maintenance and development within these specific areas, they said, adding that the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre (General Penitentiary) should be relocated and the existing facility be restored and transformed into a tourist attraction.
