Valletta road pedestrianisation plan raises eyebrows

Part of Old Theatre Street, in Valletta will be declared a pedestrianised zone for a three-month trial period between tomorrow and October 31.

The Valletta local council informed residents in a letter that this was a pilot project aimed at increasing pedestrian areas around the city.

The council said it would be creating parking bays in the corners which would be strictly for loading and unloading.

The area was being pedestrianised for a trial period. If there was positive feedback the council would be able to move to the next step making the zone permanently pedestrianised.

But it seemed that residents were not very excited about the trial pedestrianisation.

Resident Miriam Cremona, who is also the deputy chairman of the Valletta Rehabilitation Committee, complained that the council made its decision without consultation.

"The local council seems to think it can do what it likes. The community in that area is made up mainly of elderly people who are concerned how pedestrianisation will be managed. Will there be bollards? Or would it be just no entry? What if there is an emergency?"

Ms Cremona said businesses were also worried since 12 parking spaces were being removed. "The parking problem was not being solved, it was being shifted elsewhere," she said.

Ms Cremona said that if the centre of Valletta was pedestrianised with the traffic circulating around the city, the proposal would have made sense. But the council's proposal would interrupt the flow of traffic.

Pedestrianisation zones should not be imposed without consultation, not be planned in isolation and not be drawn up without giving residents alternative parking options, she insisted.

"Does the council have the right to do this sort of thing? Are they little Napoleons? The council should be there to serve the public," she insisted.

Mayor Paul Borg Olivier pointed out that the zone was only being pedestrianised on a three month trial period incorporating the summer months and the first theatre month.

The council, he said, decided to pedestrianise that area for a number of reasons.

One reason was that a lot of traffic passing through it could easily be diverted to Old Bakery Street which was the main thoroughfare.

Another reason was that the pavement was in a very bad state due to irregular parking but it could not be repaired while vehicles continued to use the road in question.

The narrowness of the street was a hazard to pedestrians on the pavement and it was not the first time that they were hit by trucks or cars.

He said the trial was being held during a relatively quiet period. If this was successful and a decision taken to permanently pedestrianise the area, the council would then be able to carry out the necessary repairs.

Dr Borg Olivier said it was useless to carry out such repairs while the road was still being used by cars.

Residents complained that trucks passing through the area were damaging their façades.

He said the council discussed the proposal with the Malta Transport Authority and other relevant departments last May.