Venturing into any of the main shopping districts in these final days before Christmas requires heavy doses of determination and plenty of spare time.
Even on normal days, traversing the congested streets and sidewalks in the commercial centres of Port-of-Spain, San Fernando, Chaguanas and some other major towns across the country is not an activity for the frail or faint of heart. However, the rush of the Yuletide season has added to the level of difficulty in shopping or conducting any transactions in these areas.
So it is surprising to learn that, even with all the gridlock and frustration involved in driving or walking through these districts, business owners are complaining that sales have been slow this season.
Even street vendors, the main contributors to congestion in every shopping area, are complaining that people simply aren’t buying.
The prevailing view is that citizens, bracing for the imminent increase in electricity rates and the return of the property tax, are holding on to their hard-earned dollars. However, there is more to it than that.
Many business owners and operators are now pinning their hopes on last-minute patronage from customers willing to spend some of their December wages, bonuses and back pay on seasonal gifts and goodies.
But it is not only the business community that should be concerned about slow sales. The various municipal authorities, who have a major stake in the commercial viability of these areas, should be investigating the reasons why there are plenty of crowds but little commerce in the shopping districts under their purview.
Perhaps they can start with an examination of all the unregulated activities contributing to the chaos and inconvenience that are perennial problems.
Take Charlotte Street for example, once favoured by bargain-hunters in downtown Port-of-Spain but now one of the most user-unfriendly streets in the capital city.
Apart from the pickpockets, shoplifters and other criminals who have made a stroll down that street very risky, even in broad daylight, there are the additional perils of traffic gridlock and blocked pavements deterring motorists and pedestrians alike.
Even worse, it is becoming increasingly difficult for shoppers and distributors to access legitimate business places because they are blocked, all the way up to their entrances and display windows by vendors’ stalls.
The situation isn’t much better in other shopping centres in the country and it certainly doesn’t help that the vendors actually get permission from the authorities to create these chaotic conditions.
This situation has been worsening every year and if allowed to continue could choke the commercial life out of cities and towns.
It would be interesting to see whether Port-of-Spain Mayor Chinua Alleyne can manage to do what his predecessor going back at least three decades have failed to do and finally bring order to the chaos in the capital.
In San Fernando, Mayor Robert Parris has announced plans for a facelift in the southern city which will displace the vendors occupying High Street and Library Corner early in the new year. He admitted that the vending is “becoming a little bit out of hand”.
The main challenge for Mayors Parris, Alleyne and their counterpart in the chronically congested Borough of Chaguanas, Faaiq Mohammed, is to eradicate the contributors to shopping chaos once and for all.
This is not about politics, it is about economic viability.