Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this morning said the government was looking into new ways on how roads are managed.

He explained that talks were being held between Projects Malta and Transport Malta on a sustainable model to help ensure that reads previously neglected would be repaired.

Addressing the 101st Cabinet meeting for this legislature, in which mayors of a number of localities were present, It was made clear that the major concern for local councils were traffic issues, including parking and road restoration.

The government, he said, was seeking various options to find possible solutions to traffic difficulties, and this also fell in line with the idea of a more effective public transport system which should help to ease the congestion on Maltese roads.

A number of Councils, including Birkirkara, spoke of the lack of funds to maintain roads, with Birkirkara Mayor Joanne Debono Grech arguing that the Council does not have funds to fix them, and asked government for support.

She mentioned that the Public-Private Partnership concept for roads introduced by a PN government around five years ago left Birkirkara with quite a debt, and urged government to consider helpful remedies. 

The Prime Minister, on this point, mentioned that works were completed through this PPP initiative, however left Council’s in debt.

Turning to parking, a number of Councils, including Sliema and Msida expressed concern as there were not enough spaces for residents. The Prime Minister explained that government wants to handle the problem holistically in conjunction with public transport etc, mentioning that there are no plans to introduce parking metres in public areas. He mentioned that a parking policy was discussed in Cabinet.

Sliema Mayor Anthony Chircop had mentioned that major roads, including Tower Road and Manuel Dimech Street should be under Transport Malta and not the local council, as they do not have the funds to maintain them. He also highlighted that Manuel Dimech street is a very old road and was never meant to hold the amount of traffic that currently passes through. He argued that this particular road needs a total reconstruction.

Mr Chircop also highlighted the number of hawkers in Sliema, who cause pedestrians to walk in the street as they would block the pavement.

The Attard representative argued the need for a larger local council office, stating that the current one consists of two rooms and is inaccessible for persons with disability and the elderly.

The Pieta representative mentioned Villa Guardamangia, that was once used by the queen however has fallen into disrepair. The Prime Minister mentioned that the government knows about this and have spoken with the owner who refused to let officials in. As such they had to use an official order to enter. He mentioned that they are looking at possible ways to restore the building and utilise it, however mentioned that expropriation would be a last resort.

Other Councils present include Msida, Ta Xbiex, San Gwann and Gzira.