It is against the law for horse and carriage operators to park anywhere in the City of Hamilton apart from under their Front Street canopy next to the Number One Shed parking lot.

However, both the Corporation of Hamilton and The Royal Gazette have received complaints that carriage operators are not abiding by the rules. Instead many park where they please in the area, blocking the canopy and sidewalk as well as effectively jumping the line to solicit tourists off the cruise ships.

Corporation of Hamilton secretary Roger Sherratt told The Royal Gazette the Corporation does have problems with carriage operators every season, despite the fairly strict rules they must abide by.

"Carriages are supposed to be parked under the canopy on Front Street when it is available," he said.

"The only time operators are allowed to park their carriages anywhere else in the City is when the area under the canopy is full (about seven carriages). Then and only then are they allowed to park in the Number One Shed parking lot - and nowhere else."

Mr. Sherratt said the Corporation had received complaints that operators were parking along the street instead of under the canopy, especially at night. They took up the bus stop area, he said, as well as blocking the entrance to the Number One Shed car park. Certain operators were also known to park across the entrance to the canopy.

"All of these are strictly against the law," said Mr. Sherratt.

When there are more horses than space operators are allowed to park in the Number One Shed parking lot, where they must wait their turn for a space under the canopy, he said.

And they are not allowed to do business while parked at Number One Shed, he added. Even if they are approached by someone wanting a ride in their carriage, operators must refer those people to the carriages under the canopy - and the soliciting of cruise ship passengers while parked at Number One Shed is against the law.

The reason behind the strict guidelines is that there is a hose and water drainage system set up under the canopy for the express purpose of cleaning up after a horse urinates, said Mr. Sherratt. The water is turned off after midnight, however, due to the fact that taxi drivers were using it late at night to clean their vehicles, he said.

That highlighted another problem: the issue of carriage operators not using diapers for their horses properly.

"We have had reports that sometimes they simply do not have the diapers on," said Mr. Sherratt. Also as operators leave the City along Pitts Bay or Serpentine Roads they tip the diapers out, as those areas are outside the City limits and so the diapers are no longer necessary. Sometimes diapers get pushed to one side as the horse wears them, and become ineffective.

"Operators can be prosecuted for failing to use a diaper properly," said Mr. Sherratt, adding he believed prosecution could result in a $300 fine.

He urged the public to contact the Corporation should they see any operators act in violation of these rules.

"There has been controversy over whether they should be allowed to operate at all within the City," Mr. Sherratt said, though he added that was a matter for the Transport Control Department and the Ministry of Transport.

"We do keep a close watch of horse and buggies in the City, we know tourists enjoy them. We therefore urge operators to be sensible and follow the rules."