Claudia Calleja
Government reduces parking spaces... adds more for itself
While more parking spaces are reduced in Valletta for commuters, government employees have now been given exclusive access to a section that is supposed to be a pedestrianised area outside Upper Barrakka Gardens.
Apart from the spots taken up by the residents’ parking scheme, the 69 MPs, the morning market stalls and those reserved for public service workers, parking has also now been banned along Ġlormu Cassar Road, the main road leading to Auberge de Castille, whenever a cruise liner is in port.
During the past week, Castille Place (right next to the Upper Barrakka Gardens entrance) has also been converted into a reserved parking area for employees at the Office of the Prime Minister. The decision is ironic considering in 2006 the government had said the area was meant to be pedestrianised “within four to five years”.
As things stand, most car owners must pay to visit the capital because of the controlled vehicular access (CVA) system.
The other options are to catch a bus, park at the Floriana MCP car park or at the park and ride – which will, however, no longer remain free within two weeks when the new public transport operator, Arriva, takes over.
The only non-payment option close to the city centre remains parking along the likes of Ġlormu Cassar Road.
The parking problems in Valletta escalated when parking spots were lost following the pedestrianisation of areas like St George’s Square and Merchants Street, and the removal of the bridge above City Gate.
According to shop owners, the lack of parking spaces in Valletta is fast becoming a concern to businesses as shoppers are avoiding the capital.
“They are trying to turn Valletta into a Paris or a Rome where people catch buses to visit them. But here we are talking about the capital of a small island and Maltese people have a culture of wanting to go everywhere by car and, if possible, park outside the door of a shop... Until people change their mentality, business will suffer,” said shop owner Edward Chatlani.
He claimed customers in the capital started declining since the introduction of the park and ride scheme in 2006 and the situation was only getting worse. Felix Rizzo, who works in a toy shop, said several people told him they were avoiding entering Valletta because it was “a parking nightmare”.
The manager of a clothes’ shop in Republic Street agreed, saying she hoped the new bus system would save the day.
Vince Farrugia, director general from the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, said he had been informed the government would be generating about 70 more parking spaces inside Valletta to compensate for spaces lost as part of the City Gate project.
Mr Farrugia said the parking problem in Valletta was worrying businesses. About 75 per cent of shoppers entered the city by bus but shops had suffered with the introduction of the park and ride and the CVA.
The biggest loss was the high spender who had lost interest in visiting Valletta and was not the type of client to catch a bus or use the park and ride scheme, he said.
Replying to a parliamentary question last year, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said there were almost 2,000 parking spots in Valletta.
Of these 1,414 were used by the public all day, 133 were only for residents and 413 could be used by the public between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and were reserved for residents the rest of the time.
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Mr Luke Vella
Jun 27th 2011, 11:26
Biex il-Belt tiehu r-ruh kemm filghodu u wisq aktar filghaxija, trid tinstab soluzzjoni immedjatha ghal-parkegg, l-ewwel ma jridu jrahhsu t-tariffa ezistenti tal-MCP, jinbena parkegg iehor fil-belt gewwa, dan seta jsir taht Pjazza Helsien li issa se tkun okkupatha mill-Parlament li hadd ma riedu ghajr ftit b'ghajnejhom blu. Post idejali zgur li huwa taht is-suq, li aktar huwa post traskurat u mimli hmieg milli suq kif konna nafuh dari. Ideat huma hafna izda l-importanti bhalissa li jitlesta xaqq il-belt, tejatru bla saqaf u parlament gdid fl-unika fetha li kien ghad fadal fil-kapitali.
Mr Tony Camilleri
Jun 27th 2011, 11:00
On-line shopping rules.
Shop keepers, Local Councils are destroying your business
Allan Gatt
Jun 27th 2011, 08:33
'Four legs good, two legs bad', soon to become 'four legs good, two legs better'! All animals are equal...but some are more equal than others.
Ms Isabelle Luca Borg
Jun 27th 2011, 07:44
U halluna!!! Ghadkom ma xbajtux titmejjlu bina?!?! I work in Valletta and my working hours start from 8.30am however if I'm not here by 7am (and sometimes even this is not enough) I end up parking in a CVA area. One month I ended up paying €91 in CVA fees only!!!!
give us a break! Or do you want to drive us out of Valletta as well?!?!
So much for the generating of jobs!
James Wightman
Jun 27th 2011, 07:12
Or you could use a bicycle. I have both a small motor bike (tal-fadal Mr Honda's classic C70 was way ahead of its time). But for short trips now the bicycle is king. Often just as fast as a car in traffic. Did you know in Tokyo if your journies 50 shorter than minutes, its quicker to use a bicycle. Thats starting to happen here. little motorini or bicycle its the smart way to go.
But don't try chaining it to the palace railings!
Claire Busuttil
Jun 27th 2011, 00:44
kemm qedin sew.....bhal onorarja di!!
Mr Biker Man
Jun 26th 2011, 22:01
"The other options are to catch a bus, park at the Floriana MCP car park or at the park and ride – which will, however, no longer remain free within two weeks when the new public transport operator, Arriva, takes over.
The only non-payment option close to the city centre remains parking along the likes of Ġlormu Cassar Road."
What about buying and using a motor scooter to go to work? I did so (and have also a bigger bike but not for daily use) and I can tell you that it is the best investment I ever made. Fuel costs me some Eur5 (five euro) PER WEEK and I go in Valletta for free and parking is no problem. In the morning I don't have to wait in a line of one hundred vehicles wherever there is a set of traffic lights.
Most of the cars I see in the mornings have only one person inside - the driver - so no wonder that we end up with a big traffic congestion.
Phil Humphries
Jun 26th 2011, 20:24
Looks like the GonziPN Foot-Shooting Department is still active.
You couldn't make this up, could you ? .... Well, maybe not this side of China.
Mr Denis A. Darmanin
Jun 26th 2011, 18:15
I once heard two intersting phrases; 'Might is right' and 'I'm alright and f*** you Jack'.
Valletta Local Council? What's that? I have verbally expressed my concern on the sign on the corner of St. John Street and Old Bakery Street which reads 'Hastings' and points to Republic Street. How many, especially foreigners, realise that this blue sign indicates a vehicular route and not the direction to Hasting's Gardens? The name 'Hastings' alone can mean anything to those not familiar with the name!
Wake up!!!!!!
Mario Scicluna
Jun 26th 2011, 13:00
“They are trying to turn Valletta into a Paris or a Rome where people catch buses to visit them."
Paris and Rome have Metros which take you to the centre efficiently. Arrive will take us round the country!
James McIntosh
Jun 26th 2011, 12:41
The people should make a request to find out whic MP's voted for this theft of resources and kick them out at the next electiion.
MP's are not Gods and should be treated as they aso treat their electorate, with contempt,they should also pay ALL charges and taxes as imposed by them on the people, parking. flights, ferries etc. NO EXCEPTIONS.
We the people are all one, not the Freeloading Government Elite on one side and all the rest of the Paying Underclass Hoi Poloi on the other side. Government personnel are supposedly part of the state after all.
That way they can feel the fiscal pain of their incompetent Governance
Mr M Farrugia
Jun 26th 2011, 12:12
Biex tidħol il-Belt jew tiehu vjagg bl-Arriva jew inkella tigik iz-zalza ghola mill-hut. Naqdu il-barrani li jwqqaf kumpanija f'Malta b'detriment għal poplu Malti. Kull ma qed jaghmel il-Gvern huwa bhal ma qed isir fil-Grecja l-hajja toghla bla razan, minghajr ma jinghata rikompens.
j brincat
Jun 26th 2011, 12:11
A government which has its priorities all wrong!
(jb)
Paul Cirillo
Jun 26th 2011, 11:51
More parking space are being removed. Yesterday at 8 in the morning a worker was removing the paint markings on the road for white parking slots, all the way through Melita Street and all the way through South Street..
Now next Monday when I return to work, we will see what the end result will be.
Ms Tanya Briffa
Jun 26th 2011, 11:17
I'm with Amy on this one - it's becoming impossible to go on a shopping spree or out to dinner. So we'll just continue shopping online and invite each other to dinner parties. Not quite ideal for the local economy is it?
What hurts me most is that the government seems to totally ignore our plight. They live in a completely different world and have lost touch with reality. And if they don't like what I'm saying here maybe they should show us in a concrete manner that it is not so.
Charles Micallef
Jun 26th 2011, 11:01
One law for the Ministers
Another law for the Members of Parliament
Another law for the Local Councillors
and yet another Law for the Government Employees
........and the ones that pay for all this, otherwise known as Mr & Mrs Muggings are treated like 'you know what' for paying for all this!'
It is high time that the people rise against these blood suckers and make their true feelings known!
Enough is enough!
Mr Jimmy Magro
Jun 26th 2011, 10:19
Motorists in Malta have long been seen by this Government as criminals. We are not wanted on the roads.
One solution for Valletta must be that the Government wakes up and be realtistic and give the right to the private sector to build another underground parking garage for 10,000 vehicles around Valletta, such as the one in Portomaso. The project can be carried out by EU funds as there are milions of funds that have not yet been allocated and I wonder whether the whole amounts will be used, even if they apply the N+2 rule.
Otherwise, make Plan B. Get all Government Departments into White Rocks with a modern 17-floor car park making use of all systems and processes of renewable energy/water. I am quite sure this would have offered more value for money than the new piano-parliament-and-open-theatre.
Albert Bezzina
Jun 26th 2011, 12:23
If only the Government could make cars disappear! That would cut down on cash leaving the country used to purchase cars, cash for the fuel to run the cars, cash for spare parts. But than Government revenue would have to do without €200 million a year from Annual Circulation Fees (read tax), registration tax, 10% levy on insurance policies, not to mention closure of car import businesses, car repair facilities and the loss of a couple of thousand jobs with resultant reduced income tax but more unemployment benefit costs.
Strategy is simple: to keep car ownership in order maintain revenue but reduce usability for the common user. This strategy has been long planned to coincide with the start of the new bus service and part of what is called 'positive (for Arriva) traffic management measures' I have long mentioned in the past which is bound to get even more aggressive as people will simply find that the new bus system will not solve all their commuting needs.
Ideally all that cash used to buy cars and fuel could be used to buy unsold properties to reduce bank exposure to non performing real estate loans and help MP's friends get out of the hole they have dug themselves into. Or otherwise to spend it on pastizzi and mqaret to help the Maltese economy.
Motorists and the use of their cars has been the subject of years of spin singling them out as the cause of all the ills on the island. Delayed effective transport system, restrictive policies preventing car renewal leading to an old vehicle fleet and horrendous town planning left to the interests of maximizing habitable units are the other unmentioned protagonists. Never mind money collected with a pretext to create parking spaces but used instead to buy Hexagon House!
Mr Mario Farrugia
Jun 27th 2011, 08:56
i have been suggesting Hal Far for a long time. White Rocks is another option. Who needs another Parlament in Valletta ??
Ms Amy Zahra
Jun 26th 2011, 10:16
I, for one am very much discouraged to get into valletta for shopping or meetings due to the lack of accessibility of parking. I'd rather shop online from the comfort of my own house.
Rita Debono
Jun 26th 2011, 18:04
I had to visit Valletta a few days ago. NEVER AGAIN! Chaos, parking hassle, wardens asking me to drive on PAST A RED LIGHT!!
No thanks. I can do my shopping elsewhere, especially online!! I agree with Amy. Thousands of other people are doing the same.
Maltese economy? I've just visited the UK and have found that the prices at Debenhams at The Point are three times as much as those of the UK. How come? Oh, and, that is without adding the cost for parking!! So, I think I shall have to do without Sliema as well.
Government is acting like a spoilt child: I do what I want and I don't care what happens to the people around me! "
Joe Pavia
Jun 26th 2011, 09:39
Utter discrimination! Things do not change in Malta. Governments change but the people will still be left in the lurch. And the fools go rushing in when the leaders call. Pity. This could have become an Island Paradise. But..................................
Mr M Farrugia
Jun 26th 2011, 12:31
@P.Busutill l-istess gara fil-Hamrun mar-residenti. Il-Kunsill lokali beda jibni parkegg fi frar 2009. Saret il-hofra, inbena ufficju ghal kunsill fuq is-saqaf taghha u il-parkegg ghadu ma infetahx. Ix-xoghol ilu wieqaf fuq il-progrett tal-parkegg ghal aktgar minn 9 xhur issa u hdd ma jaf ghaliex. Ir-residenti ta' din l-akkwata li kienu jipparkjaw fuq dan il-post haduluhom mat-30 post u ma jafux se jkun il-futur taghhom dwar il-parkegg. Decizjoni politika hazina mill-Kunsill loklai li qed ikollha effett fuq ir-residenti. L-interess tas-settur kummercjali jigi qabel dak tar-residenti. dan mhux kliemi imma kliem li inkiteb fil-magazin tal-Kunsill minn xi kunsilliera.
Ms Pauline Busuttil
Jun 26th 2011, 09:03
Il problema hija gravi hafna u minbarra in nies tan-negozju u dawk li joqoghodu barra l-Belt, ahna r-residenti ilna nghidu li hawn problema kbira u li l-Belt qed tmut ftit ftit. Hadd ma jaghti kazna.
Il problema tal-parking hija xi haga li qed tinkwieta lillna r-residenti ghax ma ahna insibu parking space jekk ma ndurux l-Belt u nohorgu minnha ghall bosta drabi. Naghmlu mill inqas siegha biex insibu nipparkjaw.
Il Ministru Gatt issa drajnieh jghid dak li jrid u lillna r-residenti qatt ma ghamel xejn ghalina. Bhala Ministru Belti missu jara l-ilmenti taghna.
Il-kunsill rieqed u ghalhekk ma ghandiex ghalfejn nikkumenta fuqu, meta jiddeciedi li jqum mir-raqda li qieghed fija umbaghad naraw jekk hux veru li ghandu ghall qalbu ir-residenti.
Mr Giovanni Rizzo
Jun 26th 2011, 10:00
Ma tafx li z-zaqq il-mimlija dejjem giet taqa`w tqum mill-vojta ? Affarijiet bhal dawn isiru issa halli dak li jkun jilhaq jinsa sa l-elezzjoni.
Mr carlos ellul
Jun 26th 2011, 08:57
Its pretty evident that the public transport is reserved for us common mortals and not for the top government employees who have reserved parking
Mr Charles Falzon
Jun 26th 2011, 10:49
Government and other employees with a fixed time-table can very easily use the public transport system.
This will eliminate a lot of inconvenience also for local residents.
Tony Mizzi
Jun 26th 2011, 08:44
I just ask when the Valletta Local COuncil will speak of the daily parking problems the residents are facing? Apart, does the Valletta Local COuncil knows that no wardens are seen in certain residenial areas? Parking in Valletta has become a nightmare which is rendering Valletta unhabitable !!!!
However, the Mayor can't understand this since he does come to Vallletta every day after work, and has to go round and round in the hope of finding an empty spot.
I also hope that one day I listen to the so called Leader of Minority speaking about the parking problems. If not, there is no need to have him and the other PL councillors.
Mr Alfred Camenzuli
Jun 26th 2011, 09:50
Do not go to Valletta do your shopping somewhere else
Mr Charles Falzon
Jun 26th 2011, 10:37
As long as Local Councils remain Political Councils, none of us 'Locals' will ever gain fair points in improving our standing within the confines of Political Strongholds. We have reached the funny stage of protesting against Councils supposedly appointed to safeguard our interests. From what we have seen these past years with many Councils their allegiancies are to their respective political regimes. Parking is yet one of the issues. How about the concrete jungle they have allowed to stifen the very air we breath with more high rise buildings, even during a slump in the industry. They have also been well tutored to take care of their personal interests, like their Party bosses. As long as us commoners keep voting them in they will persist in doing what they have been doing - leading everybody up the garden path. I have decided that if our family parrot decides to stand for elections I will canvass extensively in its favour. At least it only shits in its reserved place. Our 'Most Honourables'; Most Humble Servants; and 'Voted Councillors' shit all over with us commoners having to pay for the bills and exhorbitant salaries and perks. As for Valletta, I have almost written it off completely from my dictionary. Good luck with finding a parking place! I suggest sorting out the problem by not using your car at all. Walk, go green by bicycle or get back to basics - buy a donkey. It's useless having it out with the Council - they're useless!
Mr Tony Camilleri
Jun 26th 2011, 15:17
LOCAL COUNCILS SHOULD BE SCRAPPED.
IF A PETITION IS TO BE COLLECTED TO GET RID OF LOCAL COUNCILS I SHALL SIGN IT.