Valletta monti hawkers are insisting that the new ‘uniform’ stalls will not create an eyesore next to Renzo Piano’s Parliament and renovated TeatruRjal. They are also insisting that the move from Merchants Street to Ordnance Street, near the entrance to the capital city, is imperative because business has dwindled over the past few years, forcing several of the open air market sellers to close up shop.

The Malta Independent went to the monti yesterday to speak to the hawkers and listen to their side of the story. Most of them refused to appear on camera, even if most of them did not have a problem with speaking to us off the record.

(Photo-montage of how the monti would like like in the upper part of Ordnance Street, next to the Parliament building)

Julian Briffa, one of some five unofficial representatives of the hawkers, said he saw no problem in placing the stalls near Renzo Piano’s Parliament. “First of all the stalls will be uniformed, not as they are now. All of our merchandise will be kept inside them. Secondly, I do not see what all the fuss is about. After all we are placed just around the corner from the Palace, which in my opinion is more prestigious than Parliament.”

Mr Briffa said the hawkers were happy with the current arrangement of placing half of the stalls in the Palazzo Ferreria part of Ordnance Street and the other half between Parliament and TeatruRjal. When asked about talk that all 75 stalls could be crammed on the Palazzo Ferreria side, Mr Briffa said flatly that the original plan still stands. “The plan is for the stalls to be split between the two parts of Ordnance Street. We have no problems at the moment. If someone decides to relocate us again we will have to see.”

The unofficial representative of the hawkers said the monti needs to move from its current place. “When they moved us farther down Merchants Street they killed the market. Almost half of the hawkers packed up and left. We need this new place.” Up till seven years ago, the monti was placed further up Merchants Street, close to the Malta Tourism Authority.

When asked where the hawkers will park, Mr Briffa said they always parked wherever they found space and they would do the same in Ordnance Street. “There were times when we even had to park next to St Elmo.”

Mr Briffa said it was unfair that hawkers were being criticized when some shop and restaurant awnings and outdoor dining areas “look just as bad.”

Another hawker insisted that the public in general was and will remain against the hawkers for no valid reason. “They treat us like trash, and for what? We have to make a living too. We too have families to feed.”

A colleague of his joined in. “A few years ago there were 120 of us. Now there are only 74. This could be our chance to improve business again.” He also said hawkers were in the dark on the future of the stalls they paid a deposit on. “The stalls cost some €2,000 and we all paid a deposit. Now the government has issued an expression of interest for a new design. Will the stalls we paid for just be scrapped? Will someone pay us our money back?” He also insisted that people have only seen pictures of one empty stall but said these will look better when they are full of wares, one sitting next to the other.”

Another said all major European cities have open-air markets that are highly visible and “they are not eyesores.”

Monti relocation could lead to parking nightmare

In the meantime, this paper also visited Ordnance Street, where metal numbers and markers were fixed to the paving. The numbers give a clear indication of how the monti will look when it migrates from Merchants Street. The stalls will be set up back-to-back, in the middle of the road, facing both ways. This will leave just enough space for cars to be parked on either side and a metre or so for pedestrians to walk through on either side.

The stalls will be set up from near the Ordnance Pub to the corner of Palazzo Ferreria, on one side and from the corner of the Old Royal Opera Theatre to St James Cavalier on the other, stopping just short of spilling into Republic Street. They will definitely be visible from Republic Street, greeting visitors who wander into the capital.

Parking will definitely be a problem. All parking spaces along the Ferreria side of Ordnance Street are taken up by residents and people who work in Valletta. There was not a single empty parking space when we visited the site yesterday. Some 75 vans used by the hawkers will most probably be parked in the area. Since the hawkers rise early, they could end up taking up parking bays currently used by residents and workers.

Valletta Mayor AlexieiDingli told this paper earlier this week that one would have to see how the monti relocation could affect resident parking and access to the area. The council, he said, has never been consulted on the project.

The hawkers currently park most of their vans in Old Theatre and Felix Street, which straddle the old roofed market. A number of hawkers asked us to stop filming the vans yesterday, with one saying that “we would get them in trouble.”