When "immediately" means more than a year

The Malta Transport Authority over the past year received 518 applications for reserved parking for persons with disability but only a fifth were granted, a spokesman for the authority has said.

Over the same time the authority removed 60 parking bays which had been granted but which were no longer needed.

Reserved parking for people with disability is granted by the authority following consultations with the National Commission for Persons with Disability.

Applications for reserved parking are assessed by a board which meets monthly and the highest number of applications is made by residents in Sliema, which has an ageing population with a high percentage of mobility problems, and an acute parking shortage.

Daniela Borg Mizzi said for the authority that reserved parking slots were removed when a disabled person who had one would have died or was found to be no longer in need of it. There were also cases where a disabled person changed residence without the authority being informed of the move.

She said the authority investigated all reports of claimed illegal reserved parking spots and removed those painted in an abusive manner "immediately". She did not give a number about how many such bays have been removed.

It is not known how Ms Borg Mizzi defines "immediately" - the authority 12 months ago said one such parking bay which was pointed out to it was going to be "removed by the entity who marked it out". Ms Borg Mizzi was reminded about this illegal parking bay last month, and was also told that the person in question not only had strings to pull, but also punches to throw. The reserved bay is still there, a year after the authority said it was going to be removed.

Strangely, the public does not often complain about illegal parking bays, according to the authority. Ms Borg Mizzi said the authority was usually contacted about queries, clarifications or requests to verify the legality of reserved parking bays.

An average of 50 such contacts are made with the ADT every month, many of them by people whose own request for reserved parking was rejected, Ms Borg Mizzi said. In such cases they are referred to a review panel.

In an article in The Times last month readers who had information about abusive or unapproved reserved parking bays were invited to contact the authority. This resulted in a slight increase in verbal and written complaints, Ms Borg Mizzi said.

Ms Borg Mizzi said one had to appreciate that due to the sensitivity of the issue, investigations were quite lengthy and carried out over a period of time. In some instances doctors were asked to look into a case.

There are a number of criteria which must be met for a reserved parking bay to be granted, among which is that an applicant must have difficulty to walk. Also according to the authority, the disabled person's place of residence must not have a garage, drive-in or any other space within the property boundaries, or within 220 metres from it, which may be used as a parking space.

But from what is known of the situation, these criteria seem to be very flexible, to be bent according to circumstances, and apparently also according to people in authority whom one knows.

Permits for reserved parking are reviewed every two years.