Strictly NO parking,they say!

I've been pondering over this post for a while now and since posts where I rant about something seem to be quite popular, I'm going to take the plunge and Attempt (notice the capital letter) to understand the logic behind some people's parking decisions.

Living on such a tiny island means that every little change, even the smallest, will have a huge impact.  Cars have increased drastically and with it parking problems.  But what I shall look at today is not problems to do with logistics but actually problems which come about from a nation who is lazy and egoistic at best.

An issue I come face to face with often is that of having people parked in front of a garage.  My boyfriend happens to have a grocery store in front of his house, so what happens? People are too lazy to walk a few extra steps and so they park in front of the garage.  Now there will be ample empty spots to park in, but they choose to block the garage.  And if God forbid I get angry and go ask around, I will get nasty looks and complaints.

Next up, taking more than one parking slot.  As you know, I work in Sliema, which is in my opinion the worst place, after University, to find parking.  Parking areas are too expensive, they flood when it rains and they're a hassle to drive through.  So I look for parking on the street.  Now you'd be surprised to see that plenty, and by plenty I don't mean a couple but plenty, of cars who are parked in between parking spaces, which means that they take up two spaces.  Now I'm no St.Theresa, but I find it difficult to understand how people can be so egoistic as to do that.  If the case happens once in a blue moon I wouldn't say anything, but to have multiple cars doing it, it just frustrates me.

Next up and probably the worst of all is parking in the middle of the street like you own the place.  I suffer from horrible road rage and it's not the first time that I yell "Mela hallijielek Nannuk?" ("Was the road a gift from Grandpa?" - it's more effective in Maltese).  These people not only cause traffic jams, but they're also a danger to those driving properly. Oh and listen to this, another Sliema episode.  So I parked my car in a good parking spot, within the lines and everything and I go back to drive off in the scorching Summer heat to find a car blocking me completely. When I move closer, I find that this lovely driver left a note with her number so I could call her to come and drive away. Can you believe that? I was infuriated and I played a little trick on the person by telling her that I actually called the police and gave them her licence plate number.  She moved the car and the look on her face, priceless.

Please, for my sanity, stick to the white lines!
Claire