Editorial: Act now, before summer becomes unbearable

Summer officially starts in a week, and many are not just dreading the heat. They are dreading the traffic, the crowds, the noise, the dust and the feeling that, once again, everyday life is likely to become more stifling for the next three months.

It’s a pity that all this coincides with a holiday season bursting with festivities and long evenings.

The reality is that many of the frustrations that define a Maltese summer do not require grand or costly solutions or long-term planning.

The frustration is exacerbated because we keep ignoring potential short-term solutions. We simply need coordination, common sense, respect, and, above all, enforcement.

Nobody expects the authorities to solve traffic congestion, overdevelopment or overcrowding within a few weeks, especially at a time when Malta is heading into another bumper tourist season. 

But all of us citizens living on a crowded island, together with our visitors, expect clean streets, safe swimming waters, less din and traffic chaos, and public spaces that are pleasant to use.

In the past days, we have already reported too many stories about polluted waters, often caused by unscrupulous operators, while back on land, a general ignorance of the highway code remains a stain on product Malta.

Take The Strand between Gżira and Sliema, for example: Public space has gradually been surrendered to restaurants and bars expanding onto pavements and parking areas, leaving delivery vehicles and coaches with few alternatives but to double park, leading to traffic congestion and accidents.

It is hardly an impossible problem to solve. Properly enforced loading zones, designated coach bays, no-idling rules and strict fines would improve traffic flow almost immediately. Why does the law-abiding public have to beg the authorities to act against those encroaching public space?

The same urgency is needed when it comes to roadworks and construction.

Why do major road closures and construction projects so often seem to converge on the same areas at the same time? Roadworks are necessary, some development is inevitable, but poor coordination is not.

It’s ridiculous that most residents of Malta can only get reprieve in summer if they leave the country

Buses and ferries are carrying more passengers than ever before, but some routes are clearly struggling to cope during peak periods. More buses on busy routes at specific times of the day would go a long way towards easing frustration.

What we are talking about here does not require large sums of money: more shaded bus stops, drinking-water fountains, and better-maintained public spaces would make an enormous difference during the hottest weeks of the year.

But all roads eventually lead back to the same issue: enforcement.

Construction hours, dust control, illegal parking, beach pollution, excessive noise and the takeover of pavements are all meant to be regulated by existing laws. The problem is that too often those laws are treated as optional.

The same principle applies to fireworks. While they are an important part of Maltese culture, it is difficult to justify subjecting entire communities to ear-piercing petards for most of the summer.

The same goes for bars playing loud music late into the night. Law-abiding residents should not always be the ones expected to adapt to the racket.

If we are celebrating record tourism numbers, then we must also ensure we have the resources to cope with them.

In a small, crowded island, we are not expecting perfection or overnight solutions. And we know that our roads, beaches and public spaces will be under huge pressure in the coming weeks. But there is a difference between a crowded country and a badly managed one.

It’s ridiculous that most residents of Malta can only get reprieve in summer if they leave the country.