Residents object to car-free Mdina

The majority of Mdina residents present at a consultation meeting yesterday voiced their objections to the town becoming a car-free area, as suggested in the Mdina Master Plan.

But they were not against controlling traffic entering the walled town as long as they were not discriminated against.

Some also aired their complaints about the 1,000 permits issued to drivers to enter Mdina, which was considered "ridiculous".

At the public meeting, held to listen to the opinions of the town's residents about the plan, Mdina Rehabilitation Committee chairman Denis De Lucca explained the cause of delays in the start of a paving project, attributing them to technical issues.

Together with MRC executive coordinator Ray Bondin, he reassured residents that no stone had been left unturned and that every necessary precaution had been taken to guarantee that the project would run as smoothly as possible.

Having said that, it was doubtless that problems would arise - the operation being highly complex - but Dr Bondin stressed that any hiccups would be corrected expeditiously.

The paving project would be given particular and personal attention by Prof. De Lucca, Dr Bondin and the relevant minister so that it would be carried out in a satisfactory manner, in the shortest time possible and according to international standards.

It was decided that it would not be carried out in phases but continuously until completion, Prof. De Lucca said.

Two technical officers were being stationed at the committee's office to deal with any complaints while a supervisor from the council and an architect from the Works Division would be overseeing the works on site.

Prof. De Lucca stressed that the master plan would "understand the aspirations of the residents to improve their quality of life" and assured them that their needs would be taken into account over and above anything else.

He insisted that the master plan was only a draft. Its proposals - some of which were controversial, such as the suggestion to pedestrianise the city - were not set in stone.

Some proposals were feasible and others provocative and they were being approached with an open mind.

The final plan would incorporate points raised by the MRC, the Mdina local council and the residents, Prof. De Lucca said.

The master plan was drawn up by Tatiana Khirova, who was commissioned by the government, and timeframes for completion of the entire project depended on funding.

As regards the problem of Vilhena Palace and the crumbling bastions, the chairman said a preliminary report had already been drawn up, identifying the nature of the damage and how to tackle it. The problem was the astronomical costs of remedial action.

The deadline for comments on the master plan is May 15.