Stop Allocating Motor Park Spaces To Traders – Ministry

The Ministry of Urban
Development and Physical Planning, has urged Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor local government councils to desist from allocating spaces to traders at the various motor parks in the state capital to enable vehicles have enough space at the approved parks in the state.
The Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Hon. Chinyere Igwe, who made the plea in an interview with The Tide said motor parks were built for commercial vehicles to park and load passengers but regretted that various motor parks in the state have been turned into markets while commercial vehicles load on the streets of the state capital.
Igwe warned that the ministry would soon commence dismantling of all illegal motor parks, stating that it causes traffic jam in most of the major streets of Port Harcourt as well as defacing the city.
The commissioner noted that last month, the ministry embarked on state wide campaign and sensitization in the state capital to educate the public on the dangers of trading on the streets and operating illegal parks, stating that the ministry would soon commence the  demolition  and prosecution of offenders of street trading and operators of illegal motor parks.
He urged the management of the local governments to assist the ministry to restore the state capital to its glorious status of ‘’Garden City”, stating that traders have turned motor parks to markets.
According to him, ‘’If you go to Abali, Mile 3 and Rumuokoro Motor Parks, traders have taken half of the space while commercial vehicles park and load passengers on the major roads.
‘The ministry of urban development and physical planning cannot accept that. We have a mandate and we shall work to actualize that mandate. Soon, task force will commence operation to demolish and close down illegal parks and stop street trading. We want the local government to be part of this arrangement’’, he said.
Igwe noted that, “Governor Wike is a listening governor who can always negotiate with market authorities for extension of shops, if the available ones are not enough”.
The commissioner however warned that non compliance to these directives would result to impounding their goods by the environmental task force and prosecution by the law enforcement agents.