Recent developments on the parking situation at UM have ignited diverse reactions on campus, including those of KSU President Carla Galea and former KSU Presidential candidate Kris Bajada. The old university football ground, having been opened today as a temporary substitute for car park 6 has done well to further fan the flames.
Galea, made it clear in a Facebook post that as KSU President she would not have let the ground be opened for parking had the circumstances been any different. She persisted that the proposal was accepted only because of how late the student body was informed of the closing down of carpark 6.
“I am completely against students simply relying on the use of their private vehicles”
Carla Galea
Galea remains adamant that the best solution for a decrease in parking spaces is to change the mentality on the islands and choose alternative methods of transport. That said, if the students were informed earlier of the changes regarding carpark 6, the solution would have been to adapt to the lack of parking and stop depending on their private vehicles.
Conversely, Kris Bajada, one of last year’s candidates for KSU President, saw the opening of the football ground as a potential stepping stone towards ambitious projects on campus. In a statement he sent to The Third Eye, Bajada stated that the parking issue must be solved by increasing parking spaces. He applauded the temporary solution and looked towards a potential underground parking being opened as well for the long term.
Bajada also saw these developments as an opportunity to continuously revitalize the university area. He proposed to reserve a small portion of land to construct small residential units and a recreational centre, both for students. Said ideas were proposing during his presidential campaign in the 2018 KSU election.
“Although these ideas may have seemed impossible a few months ago the first steps have now been taken.”
Kris Bajada