Is paying for on-street parking the best solution?

If you commute by car, you are likely to have repeatedly circled the area around your home until you are resigned to squeeze the vehicle into awkward spots.

Over the years, the changing landscape of towns and villages has seen many homes transformed into apartment blocks, and as our new neighbours increase, the number of available parking spots decreases in tandem.

As cities across the world have started to levy a charge on cars for the privilege of occupying public land, the Maltese still expect free parking places as a given, without considering what they are giving up in the process, according to Maria Attard, the director for the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

“There is a very high cost associated with free, unmanaged parking, primarily because like any free thing it gets abused, and the common good, like our public spaces, gets gobbled up by the parked cars of the few to the detriment of others,” she said.

Infrastructure for cars instead of people

While cars spend roughly 80 per cent of their time parked, dedicating so much space to parking has its consequences.

“Malta provides many examples of infrastructure that prioritises cars over people. The...