Valletta residents have just received a traffic direction map outlining the changes in traffic flow following the demolition of City Gate. It seems that traffic experts have not visited the area before plotting their new map. Residents living in the north-western part of the capital are in for a hard time, with a couple of thousand cars a day fuming their way through a residential core.
Whereas currently traffic from Castille Square proceeds uninterruptedly towards the Central Bank, St James Cavalier, City Gate and all along Hastings Garden – that is, of little inconvenience to residents – it is now being proposed that incoming traffic heading towards the Hastings area would have to be diverted through residential roads in a maze involving St Mark Street, Old Bakery Street, Strait Street, Melita Street, St Biagio Street, South Street and Old Mint Street until finally reaching Hastings. Unbelievable!
Such an illogical plan seems to ignore the fact that residential roads in Valletta are narrow, populated and pose a number of accident black spots (a case in point is the exit from St Mark Street on the corner with Old Mint Street). Sharp corners are so dangerous in the area that convex traffic-safety mirrors are all over the place and yet residents will tell you that accidents occur on a weekly basis on sharp corners. If thousands of vehicles are expected to drive this way daily, God forbid what could happen.
The area is likewise busy with small grocery shops, vendors, offices and small businesses that are serviced through delivery vans and the like. Servicing outlets would no longer be possible, as the traffic would be completely jammed. Furthermore, only a limited number of vans are currently passing through these narrow roads, often driving on pavements and posing risks to passers-by. New plans redirecting all traffic, irrespective of size and scope, would create an even bigger risk to pedestrians.
There is no mention of the parking spaces that will have to be sacrificed in these residential roads due to increased traffic.
Little is being said on air quality. With thousands of vehicles moving around slowly on narrow roads, in low gears, stuck in traffic and driving uphill, the exhaust levels are bound to multiply. Residents in the area dry clothes on balconies, as they have no other option, and their only source of fresh air are usually windows perched on these roads.
I wonder whether other feasible options were considered to redirect traffic in Valletta, such as traffic entering through St John’s ditch exiting in Mill Street via a forgotten, short tunnel that is currently being excavated. Another feasible option is to lead traffic all along Old Mint Street in one direction whilst having a parallel Old Bakery Street going in the opposite direction. Through this plan, traffic towards Hastings would just have to enter St Mark Street, drive up Old Mint Street and you’re there – avoiding the hassle of at least four minor roads.
The list is endless. I sincerely suggest an urgent meeting with residents in the area, who were never consulted on the matter. I’m told that Valletta Local Council was never called for a meeting either. Such an attitude is emblematic in Malta. If the proposed traffic management plan comes into force, we are in for another failure similar to the introduction of CVA, which was likewise introduced following so-called expert advice and planning. The Minister responsible for Transport has gone on record saying that CVA has failed. Thumbs up to the experts!
The real stakeholders are not traffic gurus and their computer-animated designs, but residents themselves, who are at the losing end and whose cries are always ignored. Valletta deserves much better!
■ Dr André Borg
Valletta