Regrello expresses satisfaction with Christmas eve experiment

San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello has expressed satisfaction with his Christmas Eve experiment which witnessed part of High Street, San Fernando transformed into a pedestrian shopping mall yesterday.

High Street is the main shopping thoroughfare which is lined with stores and several taxi stands on either side.

The street has, however, also proven to be a magnet for vendors who ply their trade on the pavement in front the stores. Several mayors, including Regrello, have attempted to deal with the problem.

At a statutory meeting of the city corporation, Regrello initially proposed moving the vendors to the edge of the street so they would not block the stores’ entrances. He had also proposed to turn one segment of High Street, from Penitence Street to Mon Chagrin Street, into a pedestrian shopping mall for one day only - Christmas Eve.

And it was at the pedestrian mall that Newsday caught up with him as he walked yesterday.

He was warmly greeted by several vendors, who praised the initiative, and last-minute shoppers who seemed to enjoy browsing from tent to tent crammed with everything from ceramics to clothes and mats. There was also a heavy police presence, which included members of the Defence Force, along High Street.

Asked about the initiative, he said, “I am very impressed and encouraged by this exercise.

It is kind of unique for San Fernando because there are several stakeholders involved here, the actual businesspeople who are paying taxes to the city and contributing to the economy of the city, the last-minute shoppers, people who got salaries late and more importantly, the situation or plight of those who are not employed and who have been vending for years.”

“We moved them from the pavements to the streets, they are not going to impede the flow of pedestrians or the entrances to the various stores, that is important, people can go into the stores freely,” he said, adding, “It’s a trial and the possibility exists that we could probably go a little further up next year.”

Regrello was also full of praise for Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed and Ag Supt Gafoor for the increased police presence as shoppers filled the street.

Meanwhile San Fernando Business Association president Daphne Bartlett declined comment on the mayor’s initiative except to describe sales as slow despite the decision to transform the street into a shopping mall.