Report recommends controlled parking scheme for Floriana

Floriana council yesterday held a public consultation meeting to inform residents on the conclusions and recommendations that have emerged from the report by a steering committee for the creation of residents and commerical parking schemes, set up within the justice and local councils ministry.

The report was drawn up after the government carried out pilot projects of parking schemes for residents in Rabat and Fontana in Gozo. The locality is divided into four zones, with different time limits for non-resident parking.

The committe has recommended that Floriana adopt the controlled parking scheme.

Floriana mayor Nigel Holland said he felt residents should be informed of the committee`s proposals, and allowed to give their feedback.

While Mr Holland agreed with the parking scheme for residents and maintained that the idea appealed to locals, it also raised certain problems, particularly for those whose relatives wanted to visit them.

The commercial sector would also not be too keen on the scheme since it would not apply to it, Mr Holland said.

The mayor said the report`s conclusions were altogether positive. He strongly agreed with and was "pleasantly surprised" by the heavy restrictions that the report is proposing on reserved parking spaces for heads of departments and other entities.

Floriana was plagued with the problem of reserved parking for the many authorities and embassies in the locality, he said. The local council would steadfastly refuse the many requests, but its decisions were often overruled by the Traffic Control Board.

Mr Holland said the report was "balanced", but the preoccupation of the elderly, who wanted their relatives to be able to visit them without problems, would have to be considered. The local council was suggesting a form of visitor`s permit to park.

It was, however, totally against the condition that the introduction of the residents` parking scheme had to await the implementation of the park-and-ride scheme, or shuttle service for Valletta and Floriana, which had been in the pipeline for some time.

"Floriana has the best credentials to go ahead with the residents` parking scheme because it enjoys a direct public transport service for those who work in Floriana and Valletta. Despite its shortcomings, public transport is available to and from all localities," he said, stressing that it did not need to wait for a park-and-ride scheme to be introduced.