Pembroke council says plans to change park and ride site will lead to more traffic

The Pembroke Local Council is objecting to plans that would change the existing park and ride area in the locality, saying that it will increase traffic in the area.

Malta Public Transport filed an application proposing the “upgrading of existing park and ride site, and repositioning of the existing car park and bus parking area. The proposal includes construction of electric bus charging pillars and ancillary facilities for public transport, namely substation, switchgear room, rest area for employees, washing area and canopies with solar panels.”

The plans show most of the current car parking spaces being replaced with bus parking spaces and recharge points for buses.

The council, firstly, brought up another recent planning application right across the road, that approved the change of use from a previously used discotheque, to a child care (Class 2C) at ground floor level, restaurant outlets at ground and first floor levels.

“The council notes that through the permit PA 747/21, the same Planning Authority authorised commercial activity through a number of food outlets, a gym and a child care facility, that also generate activity in the same area,” and said the PA did this on the basis that the area allows a number of parking spots which, although not private, are available for the public in general. The council said that now, a few months after, it would not make sense for the Planning Authority to authorise the applicant to “occupy all the space available to the public” and continue putting more pressure on residential roads in the locality.

Secondly, the council noted that over the years it organised campaigns for this zone to be used as a Park and Ride “by the hundreds of parents who use it each day to take their children to one of the many schools in the area,” said that in the case that the applicant occupies all the space at crucial times of day like early in the morning and in the afternoon, the locality will once again continue to be “invaded with unsupportable traffic, which will effectively cause a gridlock for a number of house each day.” The council said that during these times, all efforts must be made to increase the parking spaces on site that are to be left for the use of the public, including the increase due to the commercial activity allowed through the aforementioned planning application.

The council also said that close by there are the Luxol FC academy and sports facilities, as well as the football ground, and that this site is the only place close by where vehicles can be parked without inconveniencing residents of the area. It said that during training sessions, all parents make use of this parking area.

The council is asking the Planning Authority to refuse the application.