Wrecking in Port of Spain will resume from June 21.

At the Port of Spain monthly statutory meeting, on Friday at City Hall in Port of Spain, mayorMartinez said, “We cannot continue to talk alone and do nothing about it. Let us act now.”

He said the corporation will use one wrecker during the first month and the corporation will ensure there is no overzealous wrecking.

Martinez said owners of private car parks have been complaining that they are losing money as more people are choosing to park on the roadside.

“We have asked them to put carparks up in the city and they are losing money now because their capacity is only 30 per cent. They can't operate a business like that. It's not cheap to put up carpark structures."

Martinez said after fire officials and police complained of difficulty passing through the streets to respond to reports, he decided to bring back the wrecker.

He said he became irritated this week when he observed more people parking on corners, zebra crossings and also blocking driveways. He has also received complaints from Woodbrook residents on the same issues.

Martinez said he had written to acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob, the Traffic Management Division and Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan to say he intends to bring back wrecking.

This move, Martinez added, is not to frustrate or discriminate against drivers, but to reduce congestion.

“The streets are really narrow and the parking on either side has made it now narrower.

"What are we doing? We are creating bottlenecks where we should be freeing up space. We have to avoid traffic congestion. It took me almost 20 minutes to be here and get to the bottom of Frederick Street on every occasion that I'm going for a meeting.

“I have asked the CEO of the corporation to instruct our police to mobilise and we will use our empty carpark at the corner of South Quay that has been empty for the last couple of months with no revenue to the corporation."

That area will become a temporary carpark.

He encouraged those who think they were treated unfairly by the wrecker to contact the corporation.

“I will take note of it and ensure you that justice is served to you.”