The car park at the Tal-Qroqq national pool, which was closed down by Parliamentary Secretary Stefan Buontempo on Saturday, will be reopened today with more parking spaces and road signage.

A spokesman from the Parliamentary Secretariat for Sport told Times of Malta that the car park has been enlarged to include 40 to 50 new parking bays, including two for disabled people.

The car park will also have road signs to ensure better traffic management and safety.

Parents accompanying their children to Skola Sport lessons as well as swimmers who frequent the Tal-Qroqq pool were driven to frustration on Saturday following orders from Dr Buontempo to ban the use of the car park.

Dr Buontempo had based his decision on lack of safety, saying the chaotic situation did not allow access to an ambulance in case of an emergency. A few years before he had witnessed a waterpolo accident in which the ambulance could not reach the pool due to cars blocking the entrance.

The Malta Sports Council yesterday echoed Dr Buontempo’s justification, saying the national pool had been plagued by problems of obstruction and crowded parking for years.

It also confirmed that parking will remain free of charge.

Sources had told The Sunday Times of Malta that Dr Buontempo’s decision was propelled by an incident on Friday when his car was blocked by another vehicle. This was denied by the spokesman, who said the decision was prompted by the chaos witnessed by the junior minister.

Irate parents and swimmers had urged Dr Buontempo to rethink his decision, after many of them had to walk through the congested road to get to the pool.

Others had to turn tail and head home after finding no empty parking spaces.

The University Students’ Council (KSU) expressed concern at the closed-off parking area yesterday, before it was announced that it was to reopen.