Streets that time forgot

While the government boasts of the number of arterial roads being rebuilt, residents of several streets in Zabbar still live in neighbourhoods that seem forgotten by time.

In a terrible state are Nicolas Cottoner, Il-Ghasel, Guzeppi Micallef and Bahrija streets and Misrah Alofju Wignacourt.

To add insult to injury vacant building plots in the area have been turned into rubbish dumps that have attracted colonies of rodents that residents say regularly fight cats for survival.

"The roads would make a good training ground for the toughest 4x4 challenge," a resident told The Times.

"To make matters worse, e-mails sent to the local council by irate residents about this dreadful state of affairs remain unanswered. This is an insult to the residents who voted the council members in. What is the point of having a council if it does not even bother to answer communications by the residents," the resident asked.

The streets in question contain about 120 residences whose owners have paid the road contribution in order to have their street paved, some as long ago as 1989.

A resident who went personally to the council offices to report the rubbish dumps in the vacant building plots said he found little cooperation.

A number of residents have not bothered to fit a front door to their house and instead go inside their home through their garage door because in winter façades are regularly spoilt with mud that is splashed by passing traffic.

"In winter it's one thing with the mud that forms in the streets and in summer we cannot leave any of the windows open because on windy days our houses become dust pans in spite of the fact that certain residents water the street to restrain the dust" the resident added.

When contacted, Zabbar mayor Dominic Agius said the streets mentioned fall under the authority of the central government.

He noted that despite the fact that the council is asked by the Roads Department to provide them with a priority list, it is ultimately the department, which determines which streets to see to.

Mr Agius refuted the allegation that the council does not answer e-mails saying there might be instances where messages are not acknowledged but the complaints aired are passed on to the departments concerned.

About a year ago, a piece of land in Misrah Alofju Wignacourt was excavated to make way for an Enemalta substation but the work was discontinued and now looks like the project has been abandoned, Mr Agius said.

A spokesman for the Ministry for Urban Development and Roads said when contacted that Zabbar was one of the main towns with a high density of roads that had not been constructed. There are about 450 such roads in Malta.

The ministry had identified these roads with the assistance of local councils in order to draw up an estimate of the costs to build such roads for budget purposes.

"Now that EU funds for road building are available, the ministry will shortly be in a position to address the problems in residential areas," the spokesman said.