Austin Sammut (‘Hospital parking’, March 2), rightly laments the lack of outpatient parking at Mater Dei Hospital. It is an unfortunate and unintended outcome of induced demand for car use.
However, with the exception of the conceptual spirals at the main entrance, the management of Mater Dei kindly provides a good number of high-quality secure Sheffield-type cycle racks dotted around the hospital close to various entrances for those that can cycle in. This helps in relieving some of the pressure on parking availability for those who have no choice but to drive or cannot cycle for some reason. In this way, cycling also helps car drivers, freeing up valuable car parking space.