More parking blues in Sliema

Last October, the Sliema Council held a public seminar to discuss a report produced at its own instigation on Healthy Mobility in Sliema: A Case Study. The public seminar focused on two main themes: the need to improve the street environment in which people live; and the pressure to reduce the dominance of the car.

Sliema presents a very special case, though the problems there are not unique to it. Property development has changed the formerly elegant seaside town beyond recognition. The most obvious impact has been the huge concentration of car-ownership, the weight of traffic on its narrow roads and the density of parking in the streets with all its attendant problems.

The Sliema council is taking determined steps to tackle the problems. For example, it is finalising plans for road junctions and one-way streets to facilitate traffic flow through Sliema and to reduce congestion. It is also taking steps to remove cranes which have long blocked roads. While these comprise only a modest start towards the objective of keeping traffic moving and having more friendly streets, it is a pointer in the right direction. Far more, clearly, remains to be done.

But the centre-piece of the council’s proposals appears to be a scheme imposing restricted hours on half of all the parking spaces in Sliema, which will be fully implemented within six months.

This will mean that, once in place, non-residents of Sliema will not be able to occupy the same parking spot for more than two hours between 8am and 9pm, and will not be able to return within the hour. These parking restrictions will not apply to residents who display a local council permit on their car.

The mayor clearly hopes such a residents’ parking scheme in Sliema will bring benefits to the hard-done by, mostly elderly, inhabitants of his town, who currently find parking close to where they live both a challenge and extremely frustrating. Local business could also benefit from dedicated parking spaces near their establishment.

But residents’ parking schemes also suffer from several practical disadvantages.

Visitors to friends and relatives in Sliema will find themselves restricted in the amount of time they can spend with them. In the case of visits to elderly parents or sick friends, this could be a huge imposition.

The same stricture would apply to non-residents employed in Sliema and carers tending elderly patients at home. Equally, are non-resident workmen carrying out work in Sliema homes to be compelled to find new parking spaces every two hours?

Apart from the obvious impact flowing from the potential restriction of visitors to their homes on the residents of Sliema themselves, perhaps the great unknown which such a scheme exposes is how it might affect business and commerce there.

It is a fact that a large proportion of shoppers in Sliema, and visitors to cafes and restaurants, come from outside the town. Will the obligation to move out of the parking bay every two hours simply encourage them to take their custom elsewhere?

While the mayor’s initiative in tackling the parking problems of his town is commendable, there are unintended consequences which need careful consideration.

The Sliema Council will need to be extremely flexible about the detailed implementation of the scheme if the already difficult parking situation in Sliema is not to turn into a nightmare – for residents, businessmen and visitors alike.