Paul Mifsud, St Paul’s Bay
Round and round the city of Valletta
Last Saturday, I went to see a play at the Manoel Theatre starting at 7.30 p.m.
Knowing how difficult it is to find a parking place in Valletta I decided to go early. By 6.45 p.m. I had dropped my wife near the theatre and went to park my car.
It took me more than half an hour, driving along the streets at the lower end of Valletta, looking for a parking space.
There were several empty slots but these were marked in blue and therefore reserved for residents only. Finally I managed to park my car near the Lower Barrakka which is quite a walking distance away from the Manoel Theatre.
Parking in Valletta has become a big headache.
No wonder that shop owners and restaurant owners are complaining of loss of business and that in the evenings Valletta is deserted and is fast becoming a ghost city.
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Ms Elizabeth Aquilina
Apr 18th 2011, 08:59
There is an adequate car park just outside the city gate, and at that time of the night, there is more than ample parking space. Why would anyone want to park at the lower end, which is a hilly climb rather than a pleasant walk down Republic Street, made for the purpose of walking as it is a pedestrian zone? This is the way forward, if we want night time business in the city, as this would create an opportunity for bars and restaurants to stay open. Walk around the city, it's a magical place at night time!!
Mr Giov DeMartino
Apr 14th 2011, 12:19
Any suggestions, Mr. Mifsud?
Mr Paul Micallef
Apr 14th 2011, 13:44
Mr. DeMartino,
1. How about allowing non-residents to park in the reserved bays that happen to be empty between 6p.m. and 11p.m. when people normally go to the theatre, cinema or restaurants?
P Mifsud
Mr Giov DeMartino
Apr 14th 2011, 15:09
Would you suggest that if YOU were a resident and cannot park YOUR car ? I am not a Valetta resident.
George Debono
Apr 14th 2011, 10:35
Mr Mifsud’s experience is now an everyday thing. With a density of around 2000 cars per square mile (and counting) it can only get worse. The number of cars on our streets is such that it is getting difficult to walk in our streets - even pavements are narrow to accommodate as many cars as possible. O f course, we are part of the problem because we tend to over-use our car – but then public transport is hopeless .
When we go to the theatre (or whatever) we try to offer a lift to to others so as to make maximum use of the car (& diminish traffic). – and whoever drives has to accept the long walk. If alone, I use a bicycle and cycle all the way to Valletta or (at least) hitch the bike on the back of the car and cycle the last bit from the park & ride car park (people who live too far away can do this) this saves a lot of time as a bike can be parked anywhere.
The situation in Malta is fast approaching that of a large city where it ceases to be practical to use a car. It is also commonplace to have to walk miles to one’s destination. Now London. Paris. Lyons Vienna............etc have public city bicycle hire schemes. We will overcome our laziness and get there one day...
Yury Kulakov
Apr 14th 2011, 17:46
Alas, theyre flat, we are hilly. Try cycling from attard to zebbug in your trousers, shirt and a tie in summer, and youll see what i mean.
George Debono
Apr 14th 2011, 19:56
Yuri – Still there ?
RE we are hilly
Attard to Zebbug???? Well, er ,…. – I often do Sliema to Siggiewi . I do it in a big arc via St Gwann, B’kara, Balzan , Industrial estate then across the Rabat road and toward Salib ta l-gholja and down to Siggiewi. (= just over an hour of good exercise) – this is mostly quiet country roads.
So Attard – Zebbug ?? ---- I would cycle up to the industrial estate then across the Rabat road at the roundabout and continue along the new Zebbug road. This would involve a gradual climb. I am sure a route along quieter country road with less traffic can be worked out .
Trousers ? Well, light trousers are OK --- and your tie can be put on when you arrive . And, if it’s for cycling to work, it is cooler in the morning And the return journey is mostly downhill… The important thing is to give yourself more time than needed so you can do the trip at a leisurely pace. If you are in good form you can keep reasonably cool.
Yury Kulakov
Apr 14th 2011, 23:42
Hi, George,
was away for some time
Well, for leisure its ok, but to go everyday to work... I highly doubt. I tried going daily from Zebbug to university for two years, and the only thing which was in my favor was the forward trip till birkirkara. From birkirkara i had to go all the way up, and was feeling rather sleepy on the first lecture. Going home was a problem in itself, as after riding home i could only sleep. Mind you, it wasn't a full 8 hour working day which is tiring by itself. At the end i gave up on my physique and installed a motor on the bicycle. Proved much handier.
So i whislt i am not against increased use of bicycles, i highly doubt they can solve all the problems like in mainland europe. I mean, look at Vienna, Paris - flat a a snooker table (ok, paris has monmartre hill, but thats mostly tourist area), and even there, much of the traffic is shared equally between underground, scotters and bicycles. Paris even looks like a giant scooter fair.
In malta i guess we need a combined solution - better public transport (2 hours from san gwann to zebbug? I WALK it faster), promotion of scooters/motorized and simple bicycles for groceries/local stuff (that would work, certainly) and motorcycles proper for longer journeys.
George Debono
Apr 15th 2011, 14:11
Yuri
This is getting interesting. Maybe we can communicate directly.
Briefly: I commuted to work by bicycle for most of my working life – over about 3 decades. I had a lot in favour of this as it was mostly in bicycle friendly countries like Switzerland and Denmark. If hot weather is a problem in Malta – winter conditions in CH & DK are probably far more challenging.
The trouble with Zebbug is that approaching it from the N involves an uphill. What I usually do when faced with this is to finad a roundabout way which allows me to climb gradually.
I had problems with hills (er..mountains!) in CH – We lived at the foot of the Jura Mountain and “home” was 600 M higher than work ! So going back home was a stiff climb. But I found a roundabout way for the return journey which added 8 km to the journey but it had fewer steep hills &c &c &c ----
Anyway --- get in touch with me at gdmc@go.net.mt if you would like to pursue/discuss the Q of cycling to work. even if only theoretically Also have a look at part III of the think tank report “Towards a Low Carbon Society - the Nation's Health, Energy Security and Fossil Fuels” which can be downloaded from --- http://www.tppi.org.mt/cms/index.php/reports .