Parking permits issued by local councils are now enforceable by LESA following the publication of a new legal notice.
The move follows months of deadlock after a court ruled last year that Transport Malta did not have the right to transfer responsibility for issuing permits to local councils.
The court ordered LESA to refund a €200 fine to a man whose car had been towed.
As the decision was challenged by the agency and Transport Malta, the legality of the permits and their enforcement were called into question pending the outcome of the appeal.
But, this has now changed.
In an amendment to prior legislation, the right to issue tow zone signs has been extended to local councils and, importantly, applicants have been given the right to display them.
The court ruled last July that applicants did not have the legal right to display the signs provided to them by the council and that only a government entity could do so.
The new legal notice changes this, stating that “the notice may, after the applicant obtains the authorisation and permission of... the council... be administered and affixed by the applicant himself”.
Permits are often obtained by residents to reserve parking spaces for construction vehicles and skips.
Earlier this year, Times of Malta reported that a Gżira resident was left stranded after calls to her local council, the police and LESA yielded no assistance when two cars parked in bays she had reserved for a crane.
Councils in various localities had received complaints about the issue, the president of the Local Councils’ Association, Mario Fava had said at the time. Contacted yesterday, he described the new legal notice as a “positive change”.
“It has reinstated order in our localities... and in a short amount of time,” Fava said.
The lack of enforcement had “caused inconvenience to other residents as many opted not to get a permit”, he added.
Earlier this month, well-known radio host and Malta’s Got Talent judge Valentina Rossi complained on social media about the issue, posting on Facebook: “You go through the hassle to pay and apply for a permit for people NOT TO PARK due to lifter coming. People still park.”
Following the publishing of the legal notice, vehicles could now be clamped and towed away if parked in violation of a parking permit.
In addition to the legal amendments, a new tow zone sign has also been approved.
In a change to those previously issued, the updated notice advises applicants that the sign should be displayed 48 hours in advance of the start date and that a time-stamped photo “should be taken as evidence”.
Tow zone signs distributed in the past did not provide this information and displayed the Transport Malta logo in the header. This has now been replaced by the logo for the relevant local council providing the permit.
The new sign also instructs applicants to phone LESA in the event of someone parking in the spaces reserved and features a revised tow zone graphic.
Over the weekend, LESA encouraged motorists to register their phone number with the enforcement agency.
Posting to Facebook on Saturday, the agency advised motorists to “provide your contact number to avoid having your vehicle towed when parked in tow-zone designated areas”.
Motorists interested in registering their details should visit les.gov.mt.