This morning (2 May) I realised that this new parking system in Valletta is tantamount to madness unless the people in power realise that an alternative has to be found immediately.

On this, the very first day that these new regulations came into effect, there was confusion galore. Notwithstanding that hundreds of workers decided to go to work much earlier than usual, the whole Valletta ring road was already inundated with vehicles. I decided to be at my office one hour earlier, thinking I would thus avoid the hassle. I was wrong.

There were absolutely no spaces available. I now realise that I will have to face this act of folly every day, together with thousands of other workers. Anyway, who cares! The people in authority are definitely not bothered. One guy was heard advising a lost and angry motorist to try and park in the Park and Ride car park. He replied that he had been there at 7am and it was already packed. How can anyone imagine that a 900-space car park could accommodate thousands of cars? Yes, similar decisions are taken in other European cities, but multi-storey car parks are first built before they undertake such ventures.

Yes, the authorities make the decisions in this country but the citizens have no say. At the end of the day “all men are equal but some are more equal than others”. These people have their parking spaces guaranteed and most of them are chauffeur-driven.

I know this letter will fall on deaf ears. Who cares about the hassle thousands of workers will have to face every single day. One last appeal to the authorities – listen to what the ordinary citizens have to say!

John M. Bencini

Msida