Updated: MHRA criticises controlled parking schemes

(Adds ADT's reaction)

The legal notice on controlled parking schemes was ill-thought and ill-timed and would have a seriously negative effect on tourists' mobility and local businesses, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said.

It said that while residents' needs had to be considered, such a blanket approach would not result in alleviating parking problems but would worsen conditions for residents, non-residents and tourists.

The introduction of residents' parking zones on such a major scale would also negatively impact businesses in the area and worsen the great lack of parking facilities in most areas.

The timings adopted for most areas were unreasonable and would create problems for motorists who needed to visit a particular area for whatever reason.

Residents, the MHRA said, had also expressed serious concerns on the availability of parking space for visiting family and friends, who too would have to face problems to park their cars within normal walking distance.

"MHRA calls upon the government to immediately intervene by withdrawing this insensitive legislation, until a sound and holistic plan is drawn up for each particular area.

"This must be preceded by first addressing the great lack of parking facilities already experienced in most areas and the creation of sufficient parking space to cater for every areas' needs, not only in terms of residents but also based on the business and tourist requirements of each location.

"Only following such a thoughtful and constructive approach matched by remedial action can such far sweeping parking legislation ever be considered," it said.

The MHRA hoped common sense would prevail and that rather than putting the cart before the horse, the nation's requirements would be given the importance they deserved.

"Such legislation is not only counter-productive on a national level, but it also directly harms those it is meant to protect," it said.

In its reaction, the ADT said that all parking schemes that existed had been in place several months and year, some since 2001.

"The residential parking schemes implemented by local councils and listed in the new legal motice, were all approved by the the authority over the last seven years and have been in force since. They have now been incorporated in a legal notice to ensure better legal clarity."

The ADT said that the primary aim of parking control in residential streets was to effectively manage the limited on-street parking spaces between competing groups where the demand for parking exceeded the supply.

Ironically the people who suffered most from unregulated parking were MHRAcustomers who are unable to find parking in centres of entertainment that were otherwise occuppied by employees for long stretches of time.

The ADT said it processed and assessed applications for Residential Parking Schemes submitted by Councils based on surveys outlining the physical details of the street, amounts of off-street parking, specific on-street parking designations (un/loading, reserved, keep clear etc.) and on-street parking supply and demand surveys.

The authority and/or the council, carried out extensive consultations with all stake holders likely to be effected by the proposed scheme. The business community and the residents were the major stake holders considered during the consultation phase. The final scheme is approved based on the results of the analysis of the surveys and on the positive outcome of the consultation process.

"The MHRA should rest assured that common sense is prevailing. It would have been sensible from its end to check its facts before drawing the wrong conclusions altogether," the ADT said.

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