Access to Gozo no bridge too far

I fully agree with Michael Briguglio (Costly Airstrip, Cheap Politics, March 19) that an airstrip is not the ideal solution when it comes to accessibility to Gozo. An airstrip only serves the few and privileged. It might be useful to businessmen but certainly not to the man in the street. The ordinary Gozitan surely would not be able to use the air service day in day out, as it would be too expensive.

I was very glad to read in Mr Briguglio's comment that the development of a bridge could be a possibility, this coming from a member of Alternattiva Demokratika, which gives the argument much weight. A few years ago, through these columns, I tried to initiate a debate about a bridge to Gozo. The Times had even carried a poll and found that 60 per cent were in favour. But alas, no political party was interested. Maybe they are influenced by the hundreds of Maltese so-called Gozitans crossing over cheaply after changing the address on their ID cards, who fear that their farmhouse or flat in Gozo will depreciate in value. In contrast, my reason for supporting the building of a bridge between Gozo and Malta is purely to benefit of Gozo as a whole, not just a section of the population.

With the building of a bridge, the transport, employment and education problems will be solved forever. Gozo will be on par with Malta.

An express bus service could go from Victoria to Valletta. Tourists arriving at odd hours would no longer have problems crossing over. Gozitans would enjoy huge benefits from a bridge.

Studies on the accessibility of Gozo are outdated. I remember in the 1960s a model of a bridge was on show in an office in Mons Luigi Vella Street, Victoria. Since then, huge improvements have been registered in bridge building. It is enough to look at Vasco Da Gama Bridge in Portugal built with EU money. So what we need from our political parties is will power, to start taking the issue seriously and not use us Gozitans as pawns.