From now on, vendors are disallowed from selling their goods on the Boulevard Mondays through Wednesdays.
Vendors are in disagreement with this decision, while the management of the Castries Constituencies Council says this decision was taken after widespread discussion and consultation.
CCC Operations Manager, Nicky Calderon who spoke with SNO, says this schedule was in place long before COVID-19. However, post-COVID, many vendors started vending “at will”, ignoring the schedule. The influx of vendors in the Boulevard from Monday to Saturday, he says, has caused discomfort for business owners and pedestrians.
“The schedule has always been there. Before 2020 -2021, they used to be allowed Friday and Saturday. But as with anything else, we understand that people are trying to make a hustle. So we had it through Monday to Saturday. But then again, we saw an influx of persons just vending, you know, at will. So we decided to have a meeting with the Boulevard committee because pedestrians were complaining - even the businesses complained within the Boulevard. So we decided to do Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” Calderon explained.
Boulevard Vendor Inika Peter, however, says the schedule is negatively impacting her business operations. She says her income is being significantly reduced as a full-time vendor.
“The new schedule is affecting my business. It's affecting me because that's three days I'm not being able to go to work to make money. They should have consulted everybody…” she lamented.
Peter, who started vending full-time in 2021, says the existence of a schedule was not communicated to her by the then President of the William Peter Boulevard Committee.“I started doing pop-ups in 2021 and I was on Saturdays because I used to work and then I would do my business on the side on Saturdays. There was no schedule at that point. I went directly to the president and she showed me where [space] was available. So there was nothing communicated about any schedule at that point and I started doing full-time pop-ups in February.”
Calderon clarifies that despite the Thursday - Saturday schedule, vendors will be permitted to vend for a full week during special occasions.
“We have extended a full week - that is Monday to Saturday. That is for Valentine's Day. Also, for Independence Week is there. For special events, we do extend that courtesy to the vendors. Likewise, for Constitution Park, we extend that to them. And for example, during the week of Valentine's, we'll be having what we call a “Lover's Village”. So really, actually, it's not just taking a decision,” he explained.
Vendors are constantly at odds in the course of plying their trade. In Novemnber 2023, Castries Mayor, Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel disclosed that the CCC would be meeting with stakeholders to address the overcrowding in the Boulevard.