Where shall I park?

Sliema's new scheme that will restrict parking for non-residents in half the locality's roads is bound to affect business. Claudia Calleja caught up with Sliema shoppers to find out whether the restrictions would change their habits.

Victor Galea, Attard
I come to Sliema mostly for business and it already takes me about half an hour to park. This time I ended up having to use the car park once again, which is quite an expense. Parking has to be better planned and we need more underground garages to facilitate parking.

Frank Attard, Toronto
Whenever we come to Malta, we find shopping in Sliema quite interesting and look forward to it. However, shoppers need more parking. There has to be a parking allocation for businesses and this may have a negative effect on residents but you can't have it both ways.

Carmen Abela, Għaxaq
I think the restrictions are unfair. If I had to come to Sliema and not find parking, I'd simply leave and go shop elsewhere. There's a limit. How much time can you spend trying to find a place to park, after all?

Rachel Theuma, Mrieħel
I pay my car licence to be able to go everywhere. I don't see why I should not be able to park in Sliema if I want to. They already restricted parking in Valletta and Mdina and, while I can understand the decision in these areas, Sliema is a shopping area, so it's ridiculous to restrict parking here.

Elisa Saliba, Floriana
I don't drive yet but I realise it's a bit of a problem for people to park in Sliema already. I think that if I had to come here and not find parking I'd just give up and go somewhere else. Parking in Valletta is easier I guess.

Lina Farrugia, Attard
I don't see a problem and the restrictions would not stop me from coming to Sliema. I think residents should take priority. Imagine going home after a day at work and not being able to find a parking spot to get home. To me it's a good idea.

Felicienne Camilleri, Sliema
I live in Sliema, so the restriction is ideal for me. My road is full of yellow lines, so it's always been a problem to park. There have been times when I had to go round nine times to park. We also have a shop in the area and, in that case, the lack of parking might work against us. So, on one hand it's good news and, on the other, bad.

Sean Camilleri, St Paul's Bay
Parking in Sliema is already a problem and you can take ages to find a spot. Now it might get worse. The way I see it, if it took me too long to find parking I'd just go somewhere else. I'd probably head to Valletta where it's easier to park and shop.