Transport Minister Ian Borg has agreed to run a residential parking trial in Sliema, but councillors will be consulting stakeholders before it begins, the locality's mayor has said.
The minister met with Sliema councillors to discuss their plans, which would see residential parking provisions introduced to some parts of the town for a six-month trial period.
The council's plan is to introduce a scheme similar to Valletta's, with some spots open to everyone, others reserved for residents, and a third lot reserved for residents at specific times of the day.
Councillors announced their intentions to run the pilot study earlier this month, but needed the approval of the transport minister before they could go ahead with the plans.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon, the council said the minister was receptive to plans. They said both sides had agreed, however, to carry out a study first.
This "transport planner study" will "take into consideration the numerous factors and entities that make up the locality of Sliema, and will include consultation with the various stakeholders involved to present a holistic and efficient solution tailor made for the locality," the council said.
The study will be financed by the Transport Ministry, with Sliema council responsible for it.
Mayor Graziella Attard Previ described the meeting with the minister as "positive" and said councillors would start working to outsource the study immediately, as of Wednesday.
"He (Ian Borg) approved the reintroduction of the scheme... and both sides agreed that the best way to introduce this was through a study that will identify how the bays will be laid out," Attard Previ said.
She was unable to say how long the study will take to conclude.
Debate about parking in Sliema was reignited some months ago following the inauguration of Sliema's Annunciation Square, with residents divided over whether or not to pedestrianise the square.
The council has had a history of failed attempts to introduce residential parking, dating back to 2012.
That scheme would have allocated half of Sliema’s parking slots for residents during specific times of the day, yet the plan was short-lived, following an outcry of complaints and an hour-long strike by teachers in five Sliema schools.
The government went on to intervene in June 2013 and removed the scheme altogether through a legal notice.
Teachers have also threatened to go on the warpath if this most recent plan is implemented.
This story was updated to include comments by Sliema Mayor Graziella Attard Previ claiming Transport Minister Ian Borg had approved the reintroduction of the parking scheme.