From J-P Azzopardi

I suggest rationalizing the CVA system as follows:

The cumbersome blue and green parking area markings (inconvenient to both Valletta residents and non-residents alike) should ideally be replaced by white parking area markings throughout Valletta, available on a first come, first served basis.

It is also recommended that free unrestricted parking to all Valletta residents be reintroduced, thereby giving them back their right to go on holiday, make use of a summer residence, work irregular hours, or indeed park their car in their residence locality like everyone else, without undue hassle.

By reinstating the Valletta licence, but increasing it to say Lm100 pa, or whatever is considered viable and incorporating the prefix letter “V” to these tax payers’ licence plates, “capricious Valletta vehicle squatting” will be considerably curtailed. This “V” plate “disincentive” will, however, still be “attractive enough” to “V Plate Must Haves” whose nature of business necessitates frequent commuting to and from Valletta and whose productivity is currently being unfairly impaired.

By retaining the recently introduced camera billing system, but reprogramming same to exclude Valletta residents and “V” number plate holders, the CVA system should function more efficiently. Other vehicle owners entering Valletta for more than 30 minutes should in my opinion, be charged say 50 cents for the first hour, Lm1 for two hours, Lm2 for three hours and a maximum of Lm3 for the whole day. Alternatively, an even more simplified tariff or an adequate flat rate might perhaps prove even more practical.

A government commissioned independent survey on the above lines will show if the public is in agreement with the above proposals, which are intended primarily to:

Accommodate Valletta residents and the general public by eliminating the inconvenience currently being experienced.

Be as minimally disruptive as possible to the Valletta business community and the latter’s suppliers and client base “blood flow”.

Actually decrease unnecessary traffic to Valletta. As things stand at the moment, according to official statements, traffic flow to Valletta has broken pre CVA records, thereby exacerbating the damage to Valletta’s architecture and contrary to the hyped belief, has undeniably actually increased Valletta’s polluted air by that much more.

On their part, ADT should continue to try and provide an efficient Park and Ride Service, which at the moment, as was clearly envisaged, only functions reasonably well up to around 8am. Thereafter parking becomes more or less unavailable in the morning. It would also be interesting to learn why, presumably the ADT, sealed off the cark park, whose entrance is common to the Phoenicia laundry. The filthy and derelict buildings inside this ex-car park, which at the moment only cater for illegal drug activities, can easily be demolished to make way for numerous other parking places just a flight of stairs away from Valletta. As things stand at the moment, it appears that scores, if not well over a 100 parking places, have been sacrificed for some odd reason the public is unaware of.

Edmund Vassallo’s contribution entitled “The Valletta Ordeal” (Sunday Times, 13 May) is an eye opener and a shining (or burning) example of the existing CVA deficiencies with regard to businesses located in Valletta and should not be ignored.

It is rumoured that a petition will shortly be doing the rounds to request the relevant authorities to improve the CVA as we know it. Hopefully the above suggestions will also contribute to make CVA function much more efficiently and cost effectively for all end users. From an overall perspective, the ADT can easily make the above recommendations work to the national kitty’s desired anticipated level.

Let us not forget that there exists a traffic congestion and parking problem in practically all high density residential areas like Sliema, St Julian’s, St Paul’s Bay, Hamrun, Birkirkara and so on. If the Valletta CVA system ends up being used as a template for these locations without the implementation of effective improvement measures, we might as well forget about commuting by car.

Will the national interest prevail? Time will tell. The key to the necessary CVA overhaul lies in the hands of the privileged few.

J-P Azzopardi

ST JULIAN’S