The Sliema local council is strongly objecting to the removal of 62 parking spaces next to the Ferries to be replaced with bus lanes after Arriva had to reroute its service when Bisazza Street was pedestrianised.

“The council finds the latest reduction in parking spaces to create a bus lane in Tigné seafront unacceptable,” it said in a statement.

The highly contested decision was announced this week after an agreement was reached between bus operator Arriva and Transport Malta to reroute the buses that were meant to pass through Bisazza Street.

Instead, the buses will pass through Qui-Si-Sana and the Tigné tunnel and the 62 parking spaces will have to be removed for the bus lane.

The council said it was resolved to finding a solution “to the challenge that Transport Malta has to divert buses, however, no solutions should create an even bigger problem”.

Parking was its number one priority and was always considered in every decision taken by the council, it said.

It emphasised that it was never consulted by Transport Malta and disapproved of the decision.

Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry yesterday issued a statement criticising the Sliema Business Community for complaining about an “essential” bus lane that would compensate for the delays in routes caused by Bisazza Street’s pedestrianisation.

The ministry said the government had decided to “accommodate” the wish of the business community that had made a U-turn on making Bisazza Street car-free.

It was “unfair” for the community to expect the government to ignore public transport commuters as it had to “find a balance”, the ministry said.

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