Parking problems within the Planning Authority and the solution

Abstract

Transport has always been a fundamental part of growing communities, but with advanced industrial countries it has become a vital part of society. Although generally taken for granted, few people can imagine how their lives would be without the use of their car. The Maltese islands, being under British rule (1799-1964), were not excluded from the revolutions and innovations in the different modes of transport. The horse driven cart was the first to give way to the short lived endeavour of train and tram. Then an influx of a variety of transport modes occurred after the Second World War. The social influence of the motor vehicle stems from its usefulness as a means of personal and group transport. With higher income levels, car ownership has grown and created the desire for more space for roads, parking and other transportation infrastructure. With the growing population and the increasing car ownership per household, urban traffic problems in the Maltese Islands are becoming more severe. This increase in car ownership have been the major cause of traffic congestion, pollution, parking difficulties and traffic accidents to become the order of the day. Though, this is reality, the subject "lends itself to hasty and often contradictory opinions when it comes to prescribing remedies ... Some say the problem is insoluble, and therefore it is a waste of money to try to do anything. .. Some consider that growth in numbers will of itself 'solve ' the problem because traffic will then become so thick that users will tend to stay off the roads ... others say more parking space is needed. " The transportation aspect in our society has a major influence on the spatial and economic evolvement of cities and localities. "The attractiveness of particular locations depends in part on the relative accessibility, and this in turn depends on the quality of the transport infrastructure". The environment of such locations are dynamic since they all depend on the movement patterns of people. In this dissertation, the focus will be more on the 'home to work' journey since this is one of the major journey purposes and result in particular types of problems.