The case against the Qui-Si-Sana car park

Sliema has currently only one main car park, that at High Street, which is never full because parking is against payment. There is also a smaller car park at the Ferries which, on the other hand, is always full because parking is free. Two more major car parks are being constructed at Town Square and Tigné-MIDI, both in the cul-de-sac of the Qui-Si-Sana/Tigné peninsula and both near the existing one at High Street. A further car park is envisaged close by at Ghar Id-Dud. All these four car parks will end up providing well over 2,000 car park spaces for the public against payment. They are, however, all bunched up at the far eastern edge of Sliema in, or very near to, the same cul-de-sac.

All this car park space will only serve approximately one third of Sliema. And now, over and above all this, there is a government project to build another car park (some 600 underground parking spaces also against payment) yet again in the Qui-Si-Sana/Tigné peninsula at Sliema's quietest spot, Qui-Si-Sana Gardens, which is a peaceful residential area by the sea.

And as if this were not enough, the government wants to devote some 7,500 square metres of it to commercial outlets, including a kiosk in the garden, propounding the argument that this additional car park for just some 600 cars is going to solve Sliema's parking problems; and this after removing the Ferries car park mentioned above.

There is no need for this projected car park at Qui-Si-Sana Gardens because there will already be a glut of car park spaces in Sliema's eastern edge when the three projects referred to above are finished. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the existing car park at High Street close by is never full. Moreover, no one is going to park his car at Qui-Si-Sana if he needs to go to the western part of Sliema some two kilometres away. This projected car park, therefore, will not serve Sliema's needs.

There is certainly no need for any commercial outlets at Qui-Si-Sana. There are plenty of them already close by and there will be even more of them when the same above mentioned three projects plus that of Fort Cambridge Area are completed.

Worse than the fact that this whole project is not needed is the fact that it will be a major threat to the environment.

Qui-Si-Sana is the only quiet residential area left in Sliema and its garden by the sea is one of the few left in the whole of Malta where people from all over the island come to enjoy its tranquillity and fresh sea air. It is also one of the few spots left where children can play in a large open space in complete safety from traffic and polluted air and where the elderly can enjoy tranquillity. This will all change if the government goes ahead with its project.

Firstly, assuming the project will be a success, which is doubtful due to the glut of similar commercial outlets and car parks close by, there will be an increase in exhaust fumes due to the increase in traffic. This will be most intense at the critical junction which the car park's entrance/exit forms with the main Qui-Si-Sana road causing traffic congestion and consequent revving of engines.

There will be a large quantity of cars stuck on this road with their idle running engines emitting large quantities of exhaust fumes which will all end up in the homes of the residents of the whole area. Then there will be an intolerable amount of exhaust fumes in the car park itself which will only be blown inland in the direction of all the nearby residences by the prevalent northwest wind. There will also be a residue of fumes in the garden itself, especially if there is no wind at all.

There will also be an increase in exhaust fumes in the rest of Sliema as well due to the chaotic traffic which will be created by the Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) described in the Qui-Si-Sana Development Brief. It will consist of parking for non-residents, against payment, in absurdly only one third of Sliema, that same third where there will be a glut of car parks. Visitors to Sliema will first seek out a free parking space. When they realise that this does not exist inside the RPZ, they will look for one outside it. And if they do not find a space there, they will return to the RPZ (or to a nearby car park) and park their cars there against payment. The result of all this toing and froing of traffic over the whole of Sliema will be utter chaos causing an environmental disaster in terms of concentrated exhaust fumes.

Other environmental hazards will be noise due to traffic congestion - revving engines and blaring horns; and noise generated by the commercial area and kiosk: loud voices, music and the removal of tables and chairs in the late hours of the night.

A further environmental hazard will be the odour of food being cooked in these places plus the stench caused by the refuse left outside, creating a risk of vermin.

Potentially the greatest threat to the environment could come if a change of use is acquired by the developer to convert the car park into a vast entertainment area thereby ensuring that the worst fears of the Qui-Si-Sana residents will be realised, namely, that their quiet residential area will become another Paceville.

To conclude, the Qui-Si-Sana Gardens car park project is not only not going to solve Sliema's parking problems but it is going to create a huge environmental hazard not only to the residents of Qui-Si-Sana but to those of the whole of Sliema who are already suffering enough environmental problems already caused by dense traffic and excessive building development in virtually every street in the town.

Therefore, the government should withdraw this project immediately and not sacrifice the quiet residential area of Qui-Si-Sana on the altar of unbridled, frenetic development which is already threatening to destroy not only Qui-Si-Sana itself but also the rest of Sliema and, indeed, the whole of the Maltese isles. It should take heed now before it is too late.