A residential parking scheme is being launched throughout Sliema towards the end of the month and will cover the whole locality within five months, mayor Anthony Chircop said this morning.

He said that through the scheme, half the parking bays in Sliema will become timed between 8am and 9pm and non-residents will not be able to occupy the same bay for more than two hours.

Once the two hours were over, non-residents would have to move their car and would not be able to return to the same spot before another hour would have passed.

The scheme would be initially introduced in the Dingli Street area.

While urging people to cooperate, Mr Chircop said the scheme was delayed because of bureaucracy.

He said the council had also taken a traffic count of Borg Olivier Street and Amery streets. This had been sent to Transport Malta and the council was awaiting a reply to its request to turn these streets one way.

The mayor also noted that in the past few months, the council had removed five cranes that had been permanently stationed on Sliema roads.