Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop has rubbished the Planning Authority’s suggestion that reducing parking there could encourage a shift to public transport and alleviate congestion in the long term.

The authority argued, during a recent inquiry by the Ombudsman into parking issues in the town that only when motorists realised it was not possible to park would they consider public transport, and as long as parking was plentiful and cheap, car use would continue to rise.

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The inquiry was sparked by the local council’s complaints over the low payments imposed on developers who did not provide enough parking for their projects, as well as the take-up of parking by new outdoor dining areas.

Mr Chircop said that the PA’s argument ignored the unreliability of public transport and that  allowing development to continue eating away at parking would backfire, a view shared by the Ombudsman in his conclusions.

“If anything, the current situation encourages more people to come to the area, because the same developments taking up spaces are attracting more visitors,” the mayor said.

“It definitely will not achieve what the PA is arguing it will.”