Call for reconstruction of pavements in Valletta

The Valletta local council is lobbying the government so that €10.5 million from EU funds will be devoted to the reconstruction of pavements in the city, 80 per cent of which are in a dangerous state.

Studies by the council show there are some 20 types of materials used in the capital's pavements, with a conglomeration of materials used even around such landmarks as the President's Palace and Auberge de Castille, which houses the office of the Prime Minister.

The mixture of materials is visible even in prominent areas such as near Castille with 16 types within a radius of 50 metres from the auberge. There are 15 types of materials within the same radius of the President's Palace and St John's Co-cathedral.

Mayor Paul Borg Olivier said the council felt more than justified to press for the funds as Valletta is a World Heritage Site and at the Johannesburg Summit of 2002, the government had pledged to push for the city's regeneration by 2012.

"Firstly, the pavements should be changed for people's sake. We receive daily complaints from people being injured falling on pavements. Ironically, we receive complains from the Prime Minister's office, after letters from tourists are sent there," Dr Borg Olivier said.

"I even know of a case where an elderly man fell, broke a hipbone and died three months later," the mayor said. Dr Borg Olivier said it was difficult to quantify how many people experience falls on pavements daily as some reports reach the council through third parties while several reports could be referring to the same incident.

"A Chinese student working for us on the paving survey fell and cut her hand," he said.

But there were other pressing reasons why the pavements had to be changed.

"Valletta's jubilee will be celebrated in 10 years' time, when the city will be 450 years old and we should have the capital in ship shape by then. One should also bear in mind that Valletta will be the European Cultural Capital in 2017, not to say that at some point Malta will assume the EU presidency," he said.

There is no way the council can afford to change the pavements just by using its own funds. It would take it close to 100 years to be able to afford to change them at the rate of one a year, he said. The cost of a square metre of paving, including labour, is estimated to be around Lm100, which is equivalent to what the paving works in Mdina have cost, Dr Borg Olivier said.

"But the investment will pay back. The project will create direct employment as the moment one declares that, for instance, the pavements in Strait Street will be rebuilt in two years' time, the property owners there are bound to sell, refurbish or let them out and new commercial outlets, and jobs, will be established. Not to speak of the temporary jobs as a spill over of refurbishment.

"The government will get it's fair share of revenue through taxes in transfers of property, and property prices in areas which are revamped are bound to go up."

The government spent Lm700,000 on paving works in Republic Street and got back 20 per cent of it in stamp duty from the sale of three shops there, Dr Borg Olivier said.

There should be a holistic approach to paving in Valletta, with important core areas having one type of paving, less important areas a different kind while residential areas away from the core would have yet another kind that's easy to maintain but comfortable and safe to walk on, he said.

He also argued for a need to revamp the whole area from Ta' Liesse to St John's Street through Victoria Gate.

"This is the route cruise liner passengers should be taking straight into the heart of the city. The area around Marsamxett too needs a revamp and the promenade there can be one of the best on the island, with bastions towering above you on one side and Manoel Island and Tigné on the other," he said.

"There has to be a master plan, the right choice of material and the identification of which areas should be tackled and when," Dr Borg Olivier said.