Parking saga

I read with interest the letter by Daniela Borg Mizzi, manager PR of the Malta Transport Authority, entitled Parking In Balzan, in reply to another letter headed Parking Headache written by a concerned reader.

I have been at loggerheads with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the local council of St Paul's Bay with regard to street marking in Emmanuele Pinto Street.

This is a dead-end street and it is very convenient (especially in the crowded summer time) for anyone to come and park there. This is detrimental to the residents of this street, who are at a loss in finding space for their vehicles when they arrive from work or wherever. One must keep in mind that most residents in this street are not summer residents but live there all year round.

I do agree, as clearly indicated by the above entities, that the road is for everyone and any road-licensed vehicle can park in any available parking space.

I also agree that notwithstanding the fact that we had to pay CPPS for lack of parking facilities when we applied to regularise our position with Mepa, we, the owners of the land taken away from us to be utilised for public parking in front of our particular block of flats, do not have an automatic right to take this land (which originally was ours) for parking our cars in front of our block.

According to Mepa, the payment of CPPS is intended towards building a large car-parking space to suit St Paul's Bay (and Bugibba) residents, but there was no indication as to whether this is to be either done in the near or far future, or whether it will be close enough for us to use, or better still, if it will be available to us free of charge or at a cost, thus adding insult to injury.

At any rate, and further to various communications with Mepa and the local council, it has now been indicated that the St Paul's Bay council is not involved in road marking and it was the responsibility of the ADT (the Malta Transport Authority).

Surely the council could have taken this matter up with the ADT or any other authority that needs to be contacted in this regard, with a view to seeing to the needs of its residents and ensuring that at least the road is marked with proper parking bays and, if possible, indicating if these bays are for residents only. This is being claimed on the understanding that there has been enough correspondence exchanged during such a short period to enable someone to take action. After all, is this not what a local council should do?

In this country it seems there is never an end! Can someone please see to this matter?