Traffic management in Victoria

The hundreds of Gozitans who are daily obliged to travel through Victoria, and the thousands of Maltese who joined us for the long Santa Marija weekend a fortnight ago can vouch for one thing - traffic in Victoria is very chaotic and grossly mismanaged.

There are three obvious sites. The first, and probably most annoying, is the bottleneck at the Republic Street/Marsalforn Road junction. On August 13, just past noon, going towards Mgarr, I witnessed a long line of cars extending from this junction, down the whole length of Republic Street, the whole length of Fortunato Mizzi Street, and part of Mgarr Road up to the former MMU plant. The tailback was possibly over a kilometre and a half long.

The second is the bottleneck at Main Gate Street and St Francis Square. At most times during the day - except early morning and late evening - one is guaranteed a long wait in the summer sun.

There are several reasons for this congestion - the chaotic roundabout on St Francis Square; the zebra crossing at the top of Main Gate Street, and, worse still, route buses from Sannat, Munxar, and Xlendi, are obliged to go against the one-way traffic to enter the terminus.

The third jam is caused by selfish drivers who stop to run a quick errand or to drop off or collect people between the two-way narrow street extending from Savina Square to Republic Street. The worst offenders are motorists on Independence Square.

Solutions can certainly be found to ease the traffic flow and lower the poisonous emissions from stationary cars, buses, and heavy vehicles, emitting carbon monoxide into the air.

The first bottleneck at the Republic Street - Marsalforn junction, seems beyond anyone's control. But there is a relatively simple solution. Signs already exist in the lower part of Fortunato Mizzi Street indicating a right-hand turn to Marsalforn. This should be made compulsory. The right-hand turn towards Marsalforn (and Zebbug) at the invisible roundabout in the middle of Republic Street should be absolutely forbidden. This restriction should initially be controlled by traffic wardens.

Incidentally, couldn't a raised roundabout similar to the one at the top of Rue d'Argens, in Sliema, be built in the middle of Republic Street?

A solution for the Main Gate Street-St Francis Square bottleneck is a little more difficult to identify. Traffic lights may partially solve the problem. A better solution would be for the route buses to allow passengers to disembark on St Francis Square and then proceed to the terminus via Ghajn Qatet Street, the industrial estate, and Triq l-Imgarr - a long rerouting, but a plausible solution. Smaller buses could be used on these routes making it easier for them to turn through Bishop Pace Street and on to the terminus.

The last problem can be solved by better surveillance by the police and traffic wardens and by the installation of two CCTV cameras on Independence Square and Sir Adrian Dingli Street. It is a pity that traffic wardens book drivers whose parking time has elapsed by five minutes, but then wander off onto Independence Square when cars stop and obstruct traffic. It is a pity that some of those responsible are ignoring some things at this particular spot. Why? Besides, heavy traffic should be entirely prohibited at peak hours.

If the Traffic Control Board, the police, and the Victoria council discuss the matter, a solution can be found. Where there is a will, there is a way...