Privatisation of public car parks and more
Your leader in the Sunday Times Motoring last month makes interesting reading and raised some salient points. Allow me to comment on some of them.
Regarding the privatisation of public car parks, I fear this equates with a licence to print money. Parking charges have a tendency to go up as the wind blows and it is always the motorist who has to pay. The lack of competition gives the car park operators a monopoly.
Car parks should be council operated on a non-profit-making basis thereby providing a service to the community. Councils should be stopped from using the generated income for other purposes. Car park revenue should not be treated as a general income. Competent, trustworthy attendants should be paid a fair wage and car parks should be secure and barrier-controlled.
The privatisation of public roads is another negative approach. If the intention is to reduce traffic flow, then it will probably work; but surely this is not what is wanted. People have to travel in a modern world and by far and away the most efficient and convenient way is by car.
As to residential parking, why should anyone consider the stretch of public road outside their house as their exclusive property? The clue is in the word ‘public’. The abuse and misuse of reserved parking bays causes much rage.
The problem is the volume of cars on our roads and the inability to find enough parking places. Privatisation of anything will not solve these two problems. It might line a few pockets but the problem will remain.
I agree about the sleeping policemen and my heart goes out to the ambulance drivers who have to get sick people to hospital without injuring them further.
The better use of road markings is essential, but will Maltese drivers take notice?
There is not a country in the world that has come to terms with the motor car. And every idea for solving the problem has been negative or has been to satisfy a hidden agenda.
Building new roads is not the answer. The UK has shown that new roads seem to fill up as soon as they are opened but the old roads are still as congested.
A major change in attitude is needed. Not by the motorist but by planners and administrators. Would it not be wonderful to have streets where there were no parked cars.
Imagine how many streets could be converted back to two-way traffic if that had to happen – resulting in shorter and more direct journeys for the motorist.
Take Valletta. What if the area from Triq l-Assedju l-Kbir, all the way down to Triq V. Dimech currently used as football pitches and a car park was developed into a six- or seven-storey car park? Several thousand vehicles could be accommodated.
One floor could be devoted to residents of Valletta and Floriana (I would say at no cost); another floor for reserved parking for people who work in Valletta and Floriana (at a small cost); and the rest of the floors could be used by visitors (at normal costs).
Valletta and much of Floriana would be free of cars. But it would mean people walking and we cannot have that.
So introduce a tram service24/7 feeding all parts of Valletta and Floriana. Electric-powered of course and free of charge – this would encourage people to use it. The cost would be covered by the income from the car park.
Imagine what a difference it would make to Valletta. Delivery vehicles would only enter Valletta during restricted hours as they do in Japan.
The same exercise could also take place in villages. Areas could be identified and turned into multi-storey car parks, thereby relieving surrounding roads of the burden of providing parking.
The roads would be safer, less polluted and more pedestrian-friendly.
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James Wightman
Jun 18th 2012, 06:54
We've been trying to do the same thing with bicycles. Its starting to catch on. We call it Ride & Park rather than Park and Ride.
Jonathan Camilleri
Jun 17th 2012, 19:38
I had proposed that a car park can be built in each locality which are considered commercial areas, including Birkirkara, Hamrun etc. There is plenty of vacant property, and, the developers are building blocks of apartments with underlying garages, whilst for some reason nobody considers building car parks.
The cemetary next to Gattard House in Blata l-Bajda can be roofed, and, a multi-storey car park can be built, perhaps for non-profit. The last time I went to Sliema I had to pay around €2 parking fees to an attendant who carefully writes car registration numbers down. In view of the Data Protection Act, I was never asked whether they can retain this data, even though they might expect that they have the right to do so for security reasons. I am particularly referring to the parking next to The Palace Hotel, presumably operated by their management. It would be nice if they advised whether they delete the paper records after the cash transactions have been settled or not, simply because I have the right to privacy and on knowing how my personal data is being managed. Isn't my car registration number data relating to my person?
A tram service would be nice to have, but, seriously with the traffic problems we have, we need to build multi-storey roads, and, soon Malta will end up looking like Star Trek. Of course all is possible, all that is required is investment. However first of all, we need to ensure that our roads are vehicle-worthy, because we pay princely registration and vehicle roadworthy test fees to Transport Malta. Nice offices they have by the way, I wish some houses in poor areas e.g. in Valletta and in the southern parts of Malta had the same kind of finish. The same goes for housing maintained by the Housing Authority. Everyone is equal, however, Government officials, especially those having high positions are more equal than others.
I do not agree totally with the Government buying back property, however, it can go a long way in creating legislation which controls abusive prices, through consumer friendly legislation. There are usually more than one solution to a single problem, and, the private sector will surely complain about rising costs, as usual. We would expect the private sector to complain about rising costs, since they would negotiate and complain even if they were sitting on €1m of surplus, but that is part of negotiation, as we all know.
Finally, I do agree with Mr. Martin, that since Malta is lagging behind EU standards when it comes to environmental quality benchmarks, the Government needs to step in and drive us towards a cleaner Malta. For example, traffic pollution and the increasing use of traffic in Malta, is a real problem.
People who work regular hours within areas which can be reached within minutes by the public transport service, can avail more of this improved service. Why do people not bother to leave their cars parked at home when they can take the bus?
If you want to estimate your fuel costs, Google Maps (https://maps.google.com) provides information about estimated fuel cost for travelling from point to point, and, Enemalta through its website publishes fuel prices online, the latest being published at http://www.enemalta.com.mt/newsDetails.aspx?id=17988.
For example, when using Google Maps, I estimated that a trip from Valletta to Birkirkara costs me €1.32 of fuel, whilst a 30 day ticket from Arriva Malta cost me €26, an average cost of €1.30 daily. The cost of fuel might be less than this, according to separate calculations, however at face value it would appear as though it is slightly cheaper to travel by bus. In any case, using the green bus would help reduce CO2 emissions, traffic, and, waiting time in traffic, however it requires your commitment.
Are you willing to travel by bus?
Is it possible for you to travel by bus through your daily chores?
Please choose the reason of your report below: