Motorists are fuming over a “parking trap” in Ċirkewwa they believe is unfairly costing unwitting drivers a total of €2,000 a week.

The parking bay by the Gozo Channel ferry terminal, which holds six cars, is within a stretch of road designated no-entry except for vans and disabled parking. The parking spaces, however, are almost always occupied by other cars, each of which may be fined about €45 for having driven against the no-entry signs.

But motorists who have been stung by the situation say the reason for this is that the signage is not visible to oncoming cars because they face against the direction of travel when entering the restricted area.

The only signs, at the entrance to the area, are about 100 metres away from the parking bay, according to an irate driver, and there are no other signs or notices indicating the restrictions on the parking spaces themselves. Nor were they specifically marked for disabled parking, the motorist said.

Roger Mifsud, who was recently fined for having illegally parked in the bay, said the end result was that the signs were effectively invisible to drivers, many of whom were parking in the restricted area without knowing they would be subject to a fine.

In the busy summer months, and with many people leaving their cars in Ċirkewwa before travelling to Gozo, the questionable arrangement was resulting in multiple fines on a daily basis, he noted.

Mr Mifsud said he had attempted to contest his parking ticket at the St Paul’s Bay local tribunal but had been turned down on the basis that the no-entry signs were of a standard height and should be complemented by others in the vicinity, which he insisted was not the case.

“As far as I’m concerned, the Commissioner for Justice was intent on fining me no matter what I said,” Mr Mifsud said.