A vision for Fgura
Thirty years since being elected for the first time on the local council of my locality, I still look forward – with enthusiasm and new energy – to keep giving my innovative ideas on how to improve the quality of life within our community.
As we come to a close of the first quarter of this century, Fgura, like the rest of the island is facing new challenges. Our village, once a countryside village where only a few hundreds of inhabitants lived at the end of World War II, now has become a busy town with about 13,000 residents, excluding the influx of foreigners.
The town today has all the required commodities in the shops and offices that line the busy streets. But it has also become a construction site. Most of the houses are being pulled down and rebuilt as apartments and penthouses. The area has become overpopulated, and, according to the latest census, it is the fourth most densely populated area in Malta.
People complain, and rightly so, of two main opposing problems: the lack of parking spaces and of green spaces. Fgura, being both a residential and commercial zone, is in traffic mood all day.
Unfortunately, throughout the years, Fgura has witnessed a number of broken promises. Wied Blandun, the last green lung between the village and the Cottonera bastions, is crying for rehabilitation. The last two old farmhouses in the area are up for development. Two other undeveloped sites in the peripheral area are set to house more housing projects. These four projects alone will increase the population by around 900 people.
A planned adventure park, announced in the budget for 2017, remained pending. This area was expected to include sport facilties and a scouting area. Six months ago, another green project was announced in an area near the bastions. Until today, this area that, until about eight years ago, was being used by the scout group, is still waiting to see whether the new plans will include the promised scouting facilities.
In order to address today’s realities, Fgura requires a new local plan and not ad hoc decisions. We expect serious commitment from the local authorities to address the problems that have been accumulating for a long time. Most importantly, we require solutions to both an efficient public transport system and also underground parking facilities. These projects will surely help to create pedestrian zones. We require a circular bus system that will take people from Fgura straight to the Cottonera ferry. This will help reduce some traffic.
While I humbly ask Fgura residents for their support in the forthcoming local elections, I promise I will commit myself to add more pressure in order to see that the challenges we are facing today are addressed.
It is our duty to leave a better place for future generations.
Mark Lombardo local councillor – Fgura