Don't divide Sliema

In a brochure issued by the Ministry for Urban Development and Roads a few weeks ago, the government - presumably with the agreement of the local council - proposed the provision of residents' parking. This is obviously fine and correct and the sooner the better. But it is also proposing that Sliema be divided into four or five zones. This is definitely not on!

The same brochure quotes a shoppers' survey carried out by Mepa, establishing that in Sliema 62 per cent of shoppers arrive by car. If Sliema is divided into a number of zones it would mean that a Sliema resident living in, say Isouard Street, going shopping to Bisazza Street or for a coffee to Neptunes or to church at Stella Maris, would have to find an empty meter, same as a non-resident of Sliema, as these places would presumably all fall outside his immediate residential area and hence outside his zone. I appreciate that Sliema is practically all reachable on foot but this is not always practical in the case of elderly residents or when one has to carry bulky or heavy shopping.

In London, Kensington and Chelsea is the only borough which has, at least until recently, resisted the temptation to divide its huge extensive area into zones. One could reside at one extreme end of North Kensington and still go to Kings Road and park on any available residents' parking space. This has kept property in the borough more valuable and the shops more successful.

I do hope that the council will resist the temptation to divide Sliema even if this would earn it much more money in parking fines at the expense of its residents.