Cars for sale take up parking spots

It is general national practice that second-hand car dealers use their showroom in which they park four to six cars, while the rest are put on show in the streets, where residents cannot park, causing bad neighbourliness to the area.

This is done with the excuse that the car licence is paid and so it is their right to park on any road. Such showrooms are found in almost every town and village, with the nearby streets full of cars on show parked on the roads, thus the showroom is extended onto the public roads.

A lot of fuss is now going on because the Sliema local council is to introduce residents' parking.

One of the streets mentioned above, and which is being used as a car showroom, is Tower Road in Sliema, in the Chalet area, although no car showrooms are within sight.

I think that everybody agrees that such a touristic area should not be denigrated in such a manner. Many residents in this area do not use their private car because of the parking problem.