Birkirkara’s Valley Road will remain open until 6.30pm during the festa week as a result of public pressure, the locality’s band club said.

Unlike previous years, a good part of Valley Road was set to be closed to cars all day from Monday to Sunday.

But in an announcement on Facebook on Wednesday evening, Duke of Connaught’s Own Band Club said this will no longer be the case following public attention.

The band club said that a compromise to keep the road open in the mornings was reached after it was approached by Transport Malta.

Now, from August 14 to 18, the road will be open to traffic until 6.30pm but it will be blocked off for the festa throughout August 19 and 20 - Saturday and Sunday.

“We are doing this despite having permission from the competent authorities, including Transport Malta, the Birkirkara local council and the police,” the club wrote.

Preparations and activities will continue as planned, it added.

Better or worse for business

On Tuesday morning, businesses along the busy Birkirkara road were unable to decide whether the week-long closure of Valley Road for the festa would benefit their shops.

While one retailer said the festa would mean more customers as the road closure would create more foot traffic, another disagreed.

“Customers often park right in front of the shop after seeing something they like in the display; we will lose that for the entire week,” he said.

They also noted that the closure comes at a bad time as the Santa Marija week tends to be an exceptionally busy time.

Birkirkara mayor Joanne Debono Grech had also confirmed that a large chunk of Valley Road will be closed to traffic for the entire week. 

She said that although some residents might be irritated by traffic problems, many Birkirkara residents are passionate about the feast.

“The band club will be holding activities and events throughout the week, day and night,” the mayor had said.