Balluta Square car park

The mayor and local council of St Julians should better get their priorities right and focus on the areas of St Julians closer to the restaurants and entertainment scene where there really is a parking problem, and leave Balluta Square alone. Balluta Square is on the outskirts of St Julians and relatively tranquil compared to the hub of activity from Spinola Bay upwards towards Paceville.

In his letter to The Times (October 21), Mr Bonello tries to portray himself and his local council as some champion defender of local residents. His claim to want to mitigate the parking problems for the local residents is not sustained by any facts. On the contrary, potential parking spaces for residents are being given away to accommodate commercial enterprises at an alarming rate. Examples are in St George's Road, where an area which can hold 10 residents' cars has been marked for unloading only and part of Church Street has been permanently closed to traffic, denying residents numerous parking spaces.

Mr Bonello needs to better acknowledge that St Julians is host to numerous restaurants which draw thousands of locals and tourists to this area. Most of these restaurants had to pay a contribution to the commuted parking scheme. Patrons will not bother to come to St Julians restaurants if they cannot find any parking place. Does the mayor and local council of St Julians really believe that diners are going to park their car in Balluta Square and walk into the heart of St Julians and back?

The solution is one. Forget about car parks in Balluta Square where there is the Meridien car park anyway, and find a site around Spinola Bay as soon as possible.