Tal-Balal Road illogic

The new traffic arrangements on the Tal-Balal Road that runs between Naxxar and San Gwann seem to defy safety and logic!

On a positive note, the roundabout at the Tal-Balal crossroads was long overdue and should result in fewer accidents. However, on a critical note, a centre strip has been added to some parts of the road, creating a 'narrow' single lane road.

I agree with a centre strip leading up to and away from a roundabout to keep the traffic flow disciplined but this arrangement does not make sense, especially in case of an emergency.

A crucial question to the minister of transport is, 'how are the emergency services ever going to be able to 'rescue' anyone if there is an accident?'

There is now no physical room for an emergency vehicle to pass (mainly in parts from the roundabout section towards Naxxar).

To add insult to injury, the height of the centre strip prevents other vehicles from mounting the pavement to get out of the way of emergency services on their way to help a victim

Are they raising the road to alleviate this problem? Does the traffic board want emergency vehicles to travel up the opposite lane?

In the heat of summer vehicles have also been known to break down! Does the rest of the traffic have to reverse all the way to the Tal-Balal roundabout?

Traffic is on the increase and there have been occasions when one has had to spend over an hour to travel a few hundred metres to arrive home, but this is not just a gripe from a Naxxar resident.

Clear double solid white lines drawn in the centre of the road would suffice for emergency services to get to the scene quickly as well as allow for vehicles to safely overtake a scene of an accident or a breakdown.

As a footnote, now that we have to drive in a restricted lane there is no way one can avoid the pot-holes or quirks in the road which damage our cars not to mention jolting our backs!