Not all plain sailing

I read with interest but also astonishment the article regarding the opening of the Fort Ricasoli set.

It did indeed draw crowds and it should have been a lovely family day out.

But... we and thousands of others were caught up in the mayhem and sheer bedlam of traffic when trying to get there in our car as we heard there was a park-and-ride service.

We heard great things... do go... you must go. We understood there would be some traffic but that we would, hopefully, park and ride or park and walk.

But it was simply chaos. We tried to approach from ways that were not marked red on Google GPS maps. But to no avail. All roads were snarled up – no police to direct traffic – miles and miles of cars all caught in the gridlock. It was total disaster and we witnessed car after car of hopeful Maltese citizens and visitor alike really losing their tempers with being gridlocked in traffic.

Thousands of people flocked to Ricasoli on Sunday to visit the Gladiator film set and film studios. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Nobody was around to help sort anything out.

Nobody at all, till the last few hundred metres in front of the entry gate. Even the shuttle buses were caught up, with no

special routes for them to bypass the awful traffic jams all over the area. It seems as if nothing had been planned for crowd management.

So, where were the police along the route to keep traffic flowing? Where were the maps en route for any designated

park and rides? What plans had been drawn up for such a huge crowd all making their way there by car – as is the Maltese preferred method of family transport – on a Sunday?

In short, it was embarrassing as it was really impressive when you eventually got there. So, to the minister of tourism I say simply: do better next time. It was a good idea but plan for the crowds and get the police out all along the way. Perhaps make it a biannual event, charge people a modest €5 to get in and make sure the visitor experience is happy from start to finish.

Many visitors will remember the chaotic traffic more than the impressive scale of the fort and the film studios.

Shame.

Deirdre Strickland – Lija