Further to the many letters that have appeared on newspapers about the Qui-Si-Sana parking project and all the proposed changes to the neighbouring areas, the one thing that has been left out is the human element.

Sliema residents are entitled to have a say on what is going on around their own town. We have a local council whose prime duty is to safeguard the interests of the residents. We have quite a few councillors who take their role to heart. One must be reminded that when elections come and go, the result is clear for all to see and those who fall by the wayside are the very people who would not have done their very best for the residents they represent.

Sliema deserves much more than it is getting at the moment. Take the state of the roads for a starter; taking my daily route from the Sliema front to Gzira gives me the opportunity to digest my breakfast in a very fast way. The road makes you feel like being on the bumping cars at the luna park. The many potholes do not give any credit to our town. Even the promenade embellishment has been left unfinished and we expect that this be completed without further delay.

The residential parking zone is another sore subject for us in Sliema. The local council, and not private enterprise, should handle the RPZ, as otherwise this will give rise to undue costs to all residents alike let alone the elderly. It has been publicly announced by the local council that they should handle the RPZ, as they would leave 50 per cent of the parking to residents and this at no charge. The other 50 per cent would be for commercial parking that is for clients visiting the commercial shops who would be able to park for a two-hour period.

This brings me to the Qui-Si-Sana car park, a car park that is unwanted by residents and shop owners alike. From a resident's point of view this car park would cause undue stress to the area and unwanted added traffic with all the pollution and discomfort this brings with it.

The shop owners, in particular those in the Tower Road, Bisazza Street and Ferries area, would object to this car park for several reasons, particularly because this would as a result end up in shifting the town centre as we know it today to a new town centre further into the Qui-Si-Sana peninsula.

The new Midi project together with the developments both in Qui-Si-Sana promenade and in the existing Crowne Plaza footprint are going to give a substantial parking boost to the area of about 1,800 car spaces for customers. Thus, we do not see the need of additional parking in the area.

For all those people who have written about not being able to find space to park in Sliema the solution is round the corner, so, please, put your minds at rest.

Shop owners in the Tower Road, Bisazza Street and Ferries area would like to see an increase of and organised parking in the Ferries/Nazzarenu area for patrons visiting those commercial outlets that have supported Sliema's commercial business for decades.

We expect that the existing parking spaces be increased and embellished and not reduced to a mere 40 spaces as this would only serve to shift the existing commercial centre to a new- found area. And may I ask why?

We all ask who will gain the most with all this shifting and playing around. One can definitely conclude that it will not be the residents and the existing commercial outlets.