From Mr J. Bell

I refer to the article entitled “Extensive road repair work following storm” (TMID, 30 January), which is all well and good and much needed on roads around Malta.

Now what about roads that are in a very dangerous condition? Take a look at Forga Street in Naxxar. Forga Street is a very dangerous street not only for vehicles but also for pedestrians, young and old, who use this so-called road! The dangerous stretch of road is from Falzon Street as you enter Forga Street from behind the Naxxar cemetery and continues around up to Minfah Street

This section of Forga Street is nothing more than a dirt track that has never been constructed since the houses were built some 20 years ago; it has never had any repairs done to it; no hot or cold asphalt, which the ADT calls tarmac, in all those years. Over the years, new buildings – houses, flats, villas – have been constructed in and around Naxxar and have new roads, which by right they are entitled to as the new owners pay the government for the construction of a road. But what about the residents of Forga Street? Did they also have to pay the government to build the road? They did and because nothing was done over the years they have complained only to be told “the road is going to be constructed”. They give you a reference no: …/…/ … so that you can track the progress of your complaint. I am still looking for it on the Internet under “progress made”.

If you log on to the website www.maltatransport.com/en/new/roads/projects.shtml then ADT roads / then tenders / you will see a tender for Triq ir-Rixtellu in Naxxar. When you go to this street you will see a good road with a pavement up to the very last house, and after that a dirt track that has no buildings on either side. Has this dirt track section got more priority than a dangerous dirt track that is Forga Street?

If you take a look at the dangerous stretch of road in Forga Street you will see that some residents have applied concrete to fill in the craters left by the storms over the years. This does help but it is not tarmac. Concrete is very dangerous when wet as it becomes very slippery, which is why tarmac is laid for safety reasons. The residents who live in this street know that! But other people that use this part of Forga Street do not know and could have a serious accident.

Also, due to the width of this part of the road residents who do not have a garage park their cars at the end of Forga Street and walk home. If they were to park outside their house there is a good chance that a vehicle driving through could sink into one of the craters now turned into gullies, loses control and end up in the field below, as there is no safety barrier to stop this happening, especially in stormy weather at night when visibility is limited and the street lighting is not at its best.

A family that purchased a house in this section of Forga Street in 2008 was informed that a new road would be constructed before the end of 2008. Now this family does not have a garage! But they do have young children in pushchairs. This family has now moved out temporarily and will stay away until the road has been built, because, as the mother stated, they are not taking any risks with their babies I also spoke to a traffic warden in Minfah Street and asked him if he has given any tickets in Forga Street. He said yes but not in the section of Forga Street from Minfah to Falzon Street because it is a dangerous place to ride on a scooter and there is no road there anyway.

The article of 30 January stated that the estimated cost for road repairs would be €440,000. Now can someone from the Ministry of Transport or ADT give the people an estimated cost on a person who is seriously injured or loses his life in any street due to the roadway being in a dangerous state, or is that a matter for the local council.

Jim Bell

NAXXAR