A driver smashed into parked cars on a busy St Julian’s street on Friday night, prompting residents’ complaints about what they say is a string of late-night hit-and-run incidents that are being ignored by authorities.
Residents living on Triq il-Baltiku woke up on Saturday to discover that two parked cars had been smashed into overnight, causing extensive damage. There was no sign of the culprit.
The crash was not a one-off. Alex Calleja, who lives on the street, told Times of Malta that speeding motorists regularly hit parked cars and even ran over cats and dogs.
“I’ve genuinely lost count,” she wrote on Facebook as she shared photos of the Friday night damage.
“How many residents need to fall victim of some idiots driving for it to justify action taken? How many cats and dogs need to get run over? Does someone need to have a serious accident before anyone cares?”
The street, which links St Julian’s and San Ġwann and is close to a slipway for cars driving off the Regional Road thoroughfare, has already been the site of one such serious accident.
Last October, a speeding Citroen smashed into a house on the road at 4.45am, destroying its front garden and a car parked outside. Damages ran up to an estimated €20,000.
Residents have suggested introducing sleeping policemen or a speed camera along the road to deter speeding and say that they have reported problems to their local council in the past, with nothing changing.
Local council steps in
Ms Calleja’s frustrated Facebook post drew several reactions on Saturday morning, as residents and councillors discussed the problem and what to do about it.
Mayor Albert Buttigieg wrote that the council had asked Transport Malta to install sleeping policemen along the route, as requested.
But St Julian’s councillor Sean Gauci warned that the solution might not be approved by the transport regulator, because the road is used by public buses. Speed cameras, he added, were installed by Transport Malta, not councils.
He however acknowledged the danger and pledged to “try explore some options”.
“Local Council can only put pressure on behalf of the residents,” he wrote. “We require collaboration from other authorities”.