Avenida da Madalena, in Funchal, continues to be transformed into a kind of open-air second-hand car stand. The situation is not new. In June, JM received several complaints from residents about the illegal parking of vehicles offered for sale in the area.
However, with increasing acts of vandalism targeting residents’ vehicles parked in the area, residents have complained again, stressing that nothing has changed and that many parking spaces continue to be used to advertise cars for sale. There are also vehicles in the car park of the Penteada Swimming Pools, complained another resident.
The problem is particularly visible near the access to the highway, a few metres from several shops, the Santo António Health Centre, and the Penteada Swimming Pools. To the naked eye, it is easy to identify several vehicles for sale, parked outside the carriageway, but still within the legal parking zone, in both directions of the road.
The Public Security Police (PSP) had previously clarified that the parking of vehicles for the purpose of sale or advertising in public parks and parking areas “constitutes an infringement of the Highway Code,” punishable by a fine of 30 euros.
However, the police force admitted limitations in inspection, especially in the collection of evidence. “Merely displaying a phone number in the vehicle does not, in itself, constitute an infraction. In the case of an appeal, the owner can claim that he did not intend to sell the car, which leads to the collapse of the case,” explained the PSP.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
