From our online comments board

New €10 million fund to make streets people-friendly

Local councils can now apply for funding to make their streets less car-centric and more people-friendly

Could save €10m by removing all illegal table and chairs taking up public space… enforcement costs nothing. – Peter Jones

Better make them safe and accessible for a start. Pedestrianisation in that more tables and chairs obstructing everywhere? – A. Mifsud

Wool over the local councils’ and public’s eyes. It would be better if the councils clear the backlog of work that needs to be done before they are chored with new jobs. - Joseph Sammut

Translation: apply for taxpayer money to give more table/cover space to businesses, earn “donations” from said businesses and then buy votes. The Ġaħan way. – S. Vella

Everyone’s Boulevard (sic) should ‘really’ clamp down on encroachment by individuals and businesses on public land/space... that is if the authorities want to be taken seriously... Otherwise, it is the same old business friendly political talk b*** sh**. Minister, talk is cheap! I dare you to walk the talk. – Joseph Morana

Image: James Wightman

Great. But having spent €700m getting people to drive, and promising €35m for a national bicycle network, we are now offering a paltry €10m to local councils, that residents can veto? Call me a sceptic. It’s great the minister acknowledges the need to reduce cars, which is a long overdue shift. But it needs political will and determination, on a national scale. After all, we are swimming against a tide that we created. I fear delegation to localities and relegation by residents, who want to keep the status quo, will not work. Look at Mosta. A picture is worth 1,000 words (see image, left) – James Wightman

London is considering pedestrianising Oxford Street but the Maltese are too lazy and want to drive everywhere. – Steve Magri

Some very generic comments here to “remove chairs and tables!” What from the tiny fraction of our streets they actually appear on! Does that sound like a good use of the money? How about adding footpaths to streets without them; removing the concrete ramps forcing people with mobility issues onto the road?

But, yes, it’s so annoying having to step around a tourist sitting eating lunch. That’s the priority! – Matt McCarthy

My family and I have been vacationing in Malta for the past 14 years and whenever we would go for dinner or leisurely walks we would always be forced to walk in single file as the sidewalks are no more than 60cms in width and traffic is within centimetres of the walkways. About time they take people’s safety into consideration. – Joseph DeGiorgio