areas in the city has met with praise from walkers but criticisms from motorists. Trees in large planters had been on sidewalks in several areas of the city for some time, but now new concrete islands have been installed on Lower Reid Street, Queen Street, and west Front Street and the trees placed on the islands. Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Roger Sherratt said they had received complaints that there was not enough room on the sidewalks, and a couple had even demonstrated that they could not pass by a planter on lower Reid Street sidewalk when walking side by side. Mr. Sherratt said that the move was part of the plan to improve sidewalks in the city and was outlined in the new City of Hamilton Plan. He said that as much as they wanted to put the trees on the sidewalks, it was not possible due to a lack of space and utilities running underneath. Mr. Sherratt said they wanted to retain the green trees in the city, and so decided on moving the planters off the sidewalk and onto concrete platforms on the road. And he said they had done it in a way so as to impact on parking as little as possible. He said the islands were located on double yellow lines, at the end of loading bays, and some take up a couple of bike spaces, but he said only about two car parking spaces had been lost in total. Mr. Sherratt said the islands had been strategically placed to put them in areas where there were no trees and there was no intention to reduce the availability of parking in the city. He said the Corporation was making adjustments to the final layout of the planters as problems arose, but he said they had several calls complaining there was a reduction in parking, and several calls saying that the sidewalks were much improved. One driver said: "I hate them. I am waiting to strike one so that I can send a nice little letter to Roger Sherratt.'' The driver said that if a person was trying to park, the rear of the car would hit the planter before the tyres of the car hit the island, causing both frustration and damage.

Elsewhere in the city, there are other complaints about parking -- resulting in an exchange of letters in the Royal Gazette , between dentist Ronda A.

James and Mr. Sherratt. Ms James said thee Corporation should tackle the traffic problem before trying to beautify the city. But she added: "In fairness, I haven't read the city of Hamilton Plan so I don't know what it recommends.'' Another driver complained that the Bulls Head Car Park was regularly full, but Mr. Sherratt said it was not always full, and the first time they became aware that it had reached capacity was last December. Mr.

Sherratt said that a couple of days later, people were parking against a wall on the top floor, which did not interfere with the flow of traffic. That prompted the Corporation to examine the layout of spaces, and they managed to add a couple of dozen extra spaces without affecting safety. Mr. Sherratt said the car park fills to capacity on very odd days or when events are taking up other car parks. He said that one of the current initiatives of the Corporation was to reduce the number of all-day parking bays in the city, and provide more short stay parking for those coming in for shopping. There are 27,000 four wheel vehicles on the road, even though a study conducted 20 years ago said that the Island would reach saturation point at 15,000, he said. Of those vehicles, 21,000 were private cars and the Secretary said: "We have an increase in the number of cars on the road and increased demand for parking.'' However, Mr. Sherratt said he expected the availability of all-day parking would be increased between April and June when one of the new properties on the site of the former Bermudiana Hotel will be opened. Mr. Sherratt said that there were between 400 and 500 spaces at the new complex, the first of which was expected to open in April or May. Mr. Sherratt said that the Corporation was looking at all the options for providing more long term parking. He also said that the National Transportation Plan would encourage people to travel by public transport. Mr. Sherratt said that a city of Hamilton transport strategy discussion paper produced a few years ago, concluded that the cost of parking in Hamilton was very low compared with other cities, and recommended that the Corporation review parking costs. And Mr. Sherratt said that the trend in the city would be to provide more short term parking for shoppers, and he warned motorists that: "In the short term, it will not get any easier for commuters.'' PHOTO Easy access?: A busy Reid Street -- but who is it best for?