
Friday, 29th August 2008
Tow zone, what tow zone?
Yes, certain episodes of daily life seem to happen "only in Malta"! Take St Augustine Street in Swieqi. This has been a cul-de-sac for the past 10 years. My house happens to be at the end of this bottle neck. To enter our drive and garage, we have to navigate our cars so as not to damage the walls, the pavement and the barrier.
The local council painted a yellow junction box on the road adjacent to our parapet. A sign was put up too - "Tow Zone Area" - for all cars parked on this junction. You see, if there are unauthorised vehicles parked, we simply cannot manoeuvre our cars in or out of the drive/garage.
The irony in all this is that when four or even more cars occupy this "tow zone area", we phone the police station in St Julians' and try to get hold of the wardens. The result? Nothing! Because the wardens tell us to contact the police, and the police say that, unfortunately, they cannot send for the truck to tow away the unlawful parked cars. Why? Because this cul-de-sac is so narrow that with these cars parked on the junction box, the tow truck simply cannot drive down to make a U-turn.
So we have a "tow zone area" in which the offending cars can never expect to be towed away because towing here is simply impossible. So may I ask the ADT, the police, the wardens and the Swieqi local council, when is a "tow zone area" a tow zone area, and not just a part of our imagination?







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Comments
Couldn't this area be convrted into a Clamping Zone? Surely, a pair of clamps are the most ideal solution.
One slight draw back is that the car will still keep obstructing the zone. But, with a few less euro in his pocket, the owner will think twice to park his/her car there!