NGO sees no sense in new car parks

Friends of the Earth (Malta) said they were against "the senseless provision of yet more car parks in Malta" particularly of the type and location as that proposed for Qui-Si-Sana, in Sliema.

Car parking problems were not solved by creating more car parks, especially in already congested city centres, but by better public transport and the total elimination of free parking for non-residents, the NGO said.

Shopping centres like Sliema and Valletta should keep their free parking places for residents and shoppers should be restricted to short-term, paid parking, while commuters are encouraged to use public transport. In that way, traffic noise and pollution, already at a very high level, would not get worse.

In this situation, and given Malta's oversupply of commercial centres and retail outlets, the decision to issue a second development brief for a car park and commercial centre at Qui-Si-Sana made no sense, Friends of the Earth said. The solutions to Malta's parking problems, it added, were closely linked to its transport problems.

"Private transport has been given priority over public transport for far too long. The Minister for the Environment should work with other ministries to improve public transport so that people can move around at any time of the day with an efficient and reliable service," the NGO said.