On the dot

The haphazard way in which cars are parked without any consideration to other people in Church Street, Orlando Street and Żabbar Street in Xgħajra has to be seen to be believed. This has been pointed out to local council officials, the police (and even the ADT) many a time but nothing was ever done.

Waterfall

A tiny waterfall gushes down from the steps at the rear entrance of St James Cavalier, in Valletta, right next to where people stand in line for the Park and Ride mini vans. This, no doubt, contributes to the sorry state of the pavement, where enough water gathers to fill the holes and trick unsuspecting commuters.

Unbecoming

Public transport inspectors sometimes refrain from checking tickets because they are holding a lit cigarette, albeit not smoking it, when they board a bus. Also, when the said vehicles have doors that are closed by the driver as soon as it is set in motion, and rainy weather precludes the opening of windows, the fumes remain inside the bus until the doors open again to let people on or off.

Collections

It is suggested that the Police Commissioner and the NGOs commissioner would regularly publish in the media the names of organisations granted a permit for the collection of funds. The people have the right to know who has been granted permission or not.

Commendable

The woman police officer who gave motherly love to a toddler found roaming on his own in Qawra deserves public commendation. Pity her picture was not flashed on all the newspapers and TV stations. It would have been a credit to the Police Corps.

Succession

So much has happened since Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mercieca tendered his resignation to the Holy Father five years ago upon reaching the age limit of 75. Three years ago he was succeeded by Archbishop Paul Cremona OP. Now when will the Church see new faces in pastoral areas that have been directed by certain ecclesiastics for over 30 years and who are now reaching their 80th birthday?

Waiting

On New Year's Day, tourists were seen waiting for buses at the City Gate terminus in Valletta at about 12.45 p.m., when drivers were having their well-deserved break. They could not have known that no buses would be available for no one had thought of putting up notices to this effect anywhere in the vicinity. This was very inconsiderate.

Celebration

Speaking of the New Year, how come nobody in authority thought of organising something to herald in 2009? There are so many fireworks manufacturers in this country that if every one of them contributed just 20 petards each we could have had quite an impressive aerial display.

Dazed

The headline ran thus: Parish priests to study threats to religious nature of village feasts. We all know what the problems extant are. The fact that they are going to be "studied" simply means that more time is going to elapse before the situation is brought under control.

Driven

The matter of someone being a "designated driver" for family, friends, or colleagues seems to be making headway, judging by the small number of incidents reported in the press as compared to previous years! However, one would think that having a bus service that runs for longer hours would, to some extent, help people who do not have private transport at their disposal and who find it hard to pay for mini-vans or taxis.

Upfront

Notices indicating "Front in" at designated parking bays are put there for a reason. The chances are that the exhaust from the tail-pipes of cars reversing will get right into residences through doors and windows. However, it seems that wardens are oblivious to this type of offence because residents of homes thus affected do not see any action taken on this issue.

Soiled

During last Monday's downpour, most of the soil from the roundabout at the entrance to Valletta from Floriana was seen colouring the flooded street a weird shade of brown. This indicates that the area has not been made to drain properly and it also means that mega litres of water have once more been wasted because the drains system all over the island is not regularly seen to before the rainy season comes.

Closed

These columns have long been asking when public places such as state school yards will be made accessible to people who have time on their hands and would like to gather somewhere where no public gardens are available. The dearth of gathering places has resulted in the fencing-in of playgrounds such as the one in the area behind Carmelite Street, Sta Venera, where disruption used to be the order of the day.

Crossing

Traffic from Triq Dacoutros, Triq il-Kukkanja, Cannon Road and St Joseph High Road congregates in the general area near the main door of the Bank of Valletta buildings at Mrieħel. This means that people waiting to cross on the all but invisible zebra crossing in Cannon Road have to wait for several vehicles to pass before a driver deigns to stop. Moreover, it is not the first time that one driver stops and another tries to overtake, risking a head-on collision with a vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

Bottleneck

Part of the stretch in Attard leading from near the US Ambassador's residence to Scotts' Supermarket remain a serious bottleneck during the rush hour. The ADT does not seem to be bothered at all and would not even react to comments in this regard already made through these columns.

Castille

Three cheers to the NGO that called for Castille Place to be cleared of trees and monuments and have one big, beautiful square instead. Let's have it sooner rather than later and, when it arrives, woe betide those, big or small, who even think of parking their cars, official or not, there.