Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1259447
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2020 NEWS 8 NUMRU TASSIGURTÀ SOĊJALI ISSA QED JINTUŻA N-NUMRU TAL-KARTA TAL-IDENTITÀ GĦALL-KULĦADD ĦLIEF GĦALL-BARRANIN. REĠISTRAZZJONI SSIR AWTOMATIKAMENT MALLI PERSUNA TAGĦLAQ 16-IL SENA. INĊENTIV GĦAL MIN IKOMPLI JAĦDEM JEKK TIBQA TAĦDEM FLOK TIEĦU L-PENSJONI TISTA TGAWDI MINN ŻIEDA ADDIZZJONALI FIL-PENSJONI FUTURA TIEGĦEK. DIN IŻ-ŻIEDA TISTA DVARJA BEJN 5 FIL-MIJA U 23 FIL-MIJA SKONT KEMM TIBQA' TAĦDEM. INWORK BENEFIT JEKK INTI ĠENITUR LI TAĦDEM U GĦANDEK TFAL TAĦT IT-23 SENA, TISTA' TIBBENEFIKA MILL-IN-WORK BENEFIT. DAN JIDDEPENDI MID-DĦUL TIEGĦEK U MINN KEMM GĦANDEK TFAL. IL-BENEFIĊĊJU JITĦALLAS KULL L-EWWEL SIBT TA' JANNAR, APRIL, LULJU U OTTUBRU. MINISTERU GĦALL-FAMILJA, DRITTIJIET TAT-TFAL U SOLIDARJETÀ SOĊJALI C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Sliema fears parking loss in embellished Annunciation Square JAMES DEBONO IT is one of the greatest dilemmas in urban planning: the eternal conflict between on-street parking spaces, and improving public access. And this has been exposed by bold plans by the Transport Ministry to em- bellish Annunciation Square in Sliema and turn it into a more aesthetically pleasing area. The project will go a long way in em- bellishing the public space through paving, turning what is effectively a two-way road into a paved, one- way street with an interesting de- sign through the use of red, grey and white porfido paving, and an LED street-lighting system. The plans fall short of pedestianis- ing the area to create a real square. But the change in traffic direction will mean the square will no longer be ac- cessed directly from the Sliema Ferries through St Vincent Street, improving air quality and reducing traffic conges- tion in the area. But while most residents welcome the embellishment of the "square", they regret the loss of 12 parking spac- es in parking-starved Sliema, which is one of the localities which still does not have an operational residents parking scheme. A short-lived residents parking scheme implemented by the Sliema lo- cal council was immediately overruled by the new elected Labour administra- tion in 2013. The scheme had allocat- ed half of Sliema's parking slots to res- idents. Parking in these reserved areas was only allowed for up to two hours on pain of a €23 fine. Seven years later, the Sliema council is still waiting the go-ahead to roll out a parking scheme that enjoys the residents' overwhelm- ing backing. But the plan by the Transport Minis- try for Annunciation Square will result in a substantial reduction of parking bays, with a new slanting design for the bays making them more appealing but taking up more space. A resident living near the square de- scribed parking as one of the "biggest struggles" in life, insisting that the project would only make sense if a res- idents' parking scheme is also intro- duced. "We are set to lose 12 parking spaces, which we can ill afford giving that it's already extremely difficult to find parking… As a resident living within 20 metres of the square our big- gest struggle is parking, in an area that should have residents parking but does not." The immediate area contains pre- dominantly townhouses, as well as a busy band club and several shops, of which almost none have private park- ing. "It is already very difficult for us resi- dents to find parking since in addition to this being a very densely populated residential area, there is a large hotel up the street from the square, a band club and a shopping centre down at the Ferries, as well as a large hospital close by," another resident complained. Residents also want guarantees that no restaurant or bar currently oper- ating in the square be given permits for outdoor chairs and tables, as this would further reduce parking and serve as a nuisance to residents. Some residents are concerned that the traffic redirection is being imple- mented in a piecemeal fashion, and that it should have been integrated into a wider plan for Sliema based on traffic studies. Other residents have called for the inclusion of trees in the project. A paving project for Annunciation Square in Sliema will turn the road into a one-way street and reduce parking