THE Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) has said that shoppers can expect “safety and protection” while doing business in downtown Kingston this holiday season.

Town clerk Lincoln Evans told the Observer that there would be increased patrol of problematic areas, especially over the frenzied Christmas Eve shopping weekend.

“Christmas day falls on Monday so usually the day before Christmas is Grand market. This year, we have to look objectively on the Saturday and the Sunday as two major shopping days… and there is going to be an increased presence of the security forces over those two days,” Evans told the Observer.

Kingston mayor Desmond McKenzie said the KSAC was expected to meet with the police High Command yesterday to discuss matters relating to security.

“We are meeting… with the police high command to iron out some matters that, if we are not careful, are going to disrupt activities in downtown based on complaints that we have been getting from vendors and based on things that I have seen personally,” he said.

The town clerk noted that no areas have been designated as “vending only” and it was not anticipated that there would be any confrontations with the vendors and the authorities over the period.

“We have not designated any areas as vending only. More or less what obtained last year is still in place because for the last couple of years there has been this truce between the vendors and the KSAC and we have not been having any serious problems. So we have not really interfered with what is there,” Evans said.

He added that in previous years altercations arose because vendors were unlicensed and were abusing the “no vending areas”. But now that the KSAC has been enforcing the vending regulations on a year-round basis, he said that the situation was under control.

“We are going to discuss it with them so that they know what exactly we are about,” he said.

With regards to measures to ease congestion, the town clerk said a shuttle bus system, which will operate on the hour, is now in operation.

“It’s a circular route (that) starts at the Urban Development Corporation’s parking lot on Ocean Boulevard and it goes along Orange Street and King’s Street. So we are saying to shoppers, instead of adding to the vehicular congestion, park and the shuttles will transport them,” Evans said.