I am writing to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to a traffic safety hazard that is also an eyesore, and who will, hopefully, remove this danger. If the present administration is not interested in the welfare of the people of Qormi and the thousands of people who use this road every day, then perhaps a future government would. I also hope that the local council will wake up to its responsibilities.
It is a fact that Valley Road, Qormi is a very busy road especially at peak hours with people going to or returning from work whenever it’s not raining too hard. This road relieves the flow of heavy traffic passing through Mdina Road Qormi, which has became inefficient due to the large volume of traffic passing through it at any time of the day.
At one end of the road (coming from the direction of Zebbug) there is a bridge, which is less than 5 (five) feet high. This bridge was originally built to help people cross the road whenever it rains heavily. The fact is, however, that anyone using this bridge would already be wading in water before going up the first step.
Vehicles have to go round the outer column of this bridge, after waiting for the vehicles coming from the other direction to drive through. To make matters even worse, a vegetable seller parks his truck at the end of one side of the bridge every day of the week, where clients stop just in front of this truck to buy fruits or vegetables, making it not only difficult but also dangerous for other drivers.
On 7 June, the local council together with a local athletic club organised a road race. A runner from Gozo, not realising how low this bridge is, bumped his head rather hard against the horizontal part of the bridge and was badly hurt. He was taken to hospital, by ambulance, and had to have stitches in his head. A few years ago a man lost his life trying to drive through under the bridge and crashed his car into the same concrete beam.
It is inconceivable that this bridge, which is less then 5ft high and blocks a busy road satisfies EU safety standards. Or perhaps Qormi and its residents do not form part the European Union? It would only cost a few thousand euros to raise the bridge a couple of metres, and less still to remove it altogether.
Qormi has 16,730 inhabitants (as against Sliema’s 13,500). While I do not expect the government to spend the many millions that were spent on embellishing Sliema, considering that Sliema is a special case for obvious reasons, it is not fair either that Qormi has been almost totally forgotten when it comes to capital works. Valley Road especially is in dire need of a facelift and safety measures.
Anthony A. Chircop
QORMI