By Trudy Simpson
Staff Reporter
TODAY IS D-Day for street vendors as the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) makes another attempt to relocate them in markets, arcades and other designated areas in downtown Kingston.
After weeks of planning, refurbishment and missed deadlines, a strong contingent from the Kings-ton and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) and the police is expected to be on hand today to oversee the relocation of vendors to designated vending areas in the market district.
Commercial Services Manager at the KSAC, Gary Robotham told The Gleaner yesterday that representatives of the Corporation "will be on hand to ensure a smooth process".
He was reiterating a statement made earlier yesterday by Coun-cillor Angela Brown-Burke, chairperson of the KSAC's Commercial Services Committee and a member of an urban renewal committee that is trying to breathe order into the downtown market area.
Removing vendors from the streets of downtown has been a problem for the KSAC, which was forced to push back a November 4 deadline set by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, whose administration had allocated $20 million to refurbish at least 12 markets, as well as roads and drains in downtown Kingston.
The market district comprises the Coronation, Queen's, Redemption and Jubilee markets as well as the Queens Mall, the Pearnel Charles and 65 Mall arcades. Also included are the Portmore and rural bus termini, the Kingston Craft and Red Rose markets and the Queen's Annexes.
Plans for today's relocation follows the KSAC's rejection last week of a proposal from the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) to allow vendors to remain on Princess and Beckford Streets until January 20, 2002.
KSAC councillors had been concerned that allowing vendors to remain on those streets would likely result in others taking over other roadways in the area. Some $20 million had already been spent and to accept the Chamber of Commerce's proposal would defeat the purpose, a KSAC official told The Gleaner.
The Chamber's proposal appear-ed to have been a reversal of its recent campaign to get vendors off the streets by threatening to lock down their businesses for two days if the markets and arcades had not been refurbished by October 22.
The lockdown was averted by a last-minute promise from Mr Patterson to have it completed by November 4 but that deadline had to be pushed back, owing to persistent rain over the past two weeks.
The JCC said last week that its call to allow the vendors to remain until January was made because the "window of opportunity" had already passed for this year to relocate and settle them without losses to the vendors' businesses.
