‘No parking’ signs for Naxxar activity

I would like to recount how I was treated at the Naxxar police station last Sunday (December 12) during the activity Ir-Raħal fil-Milied. I live close to Naxxar’s main square and was naturally aware of the planned activity.

That day, I had planned to visit another event in the morning. So before I left Naxxar, I took care to move our other car to an area far from the square where no ‘no parking’ signs were visible. This was on Sunday at around 8 a.m.

At around 10.30 I left for Luqa as planned, together with my wife, and an hour later we were about to enter the charity event grounds. At that precise moment I received a phone call from a police sergeant at the Naxxar police station demanding very rudely that I immediately remove my car, which he claimed was parked near a ‘no parking’ sign.

I insisted that there were no such signs a couple of hours earlier and I should not be expected to spoil my plans for the day to remove my perfectly well-parked car.

His shouted-out reply was that he didn’t care, as the local council had been in charge of putting up the signs, and if I did not remove the car, he would remove it himself (presumably by towing it). He then abruptly hung up.

In short, I had to drive back to Naxxar to move the car. And guess what? I found a very big ‘no parking’ sign exactly by my car. The funny thing is that it stated that no parking was allowed on December 10 and 11.

I approached two police officers and a warden who were chatting nearby to point out this very obvious anomaly but neither of them even bothered to come and check. They said I should raise any issues with the local council as they were responsible for these signs.

This story is genuine and speaks for itself. The attitude of the police officers also leaves a lot to be desired, and I strongly believe officers dealing with citizens should acquire customer service skills.

On a positive note, I wish to congratulate the Naxxar council for many positive initiatives, including Ir-Raħal fil-Milied activity and the brilliant Christmas street decorations, which are by far the most spectacular in Malta.

Keep up the good work, but please take action on my criticism is clear there was no co-ordination between the police and the local council with respect to traffic logistics.