Vehicular exit out of Swieqi

Hugh Mercieca's letter regarding the entrance/exit for Swieqi at id-Dris Street junction illustrates one of the major difficulties residents have to encounter in their daily commuting.

As I pointed out in the local council magazine a couple of years ago, Swieqi has no properly designed entrances and exits. The town is bordered by the Regional Road and St Andrew's Road and development, all on private land, extends to the very border. The openings we have just happened to be there. But they are all we have.

Some years ago the Traffic Control Board was toying with the idea of closing this junction and some months later it was contemplating turning the bridge exit into a pedestrian zone barred to traffic. Luckily I was on the board myself at the time and protested both ideas for lack of alternatives. We were also shown plans for a properly designed junction between the id-Dris Street exit and the traffic lights to Pembroke but nothing concrete has yet resulted from it.

Some months ago following requests (I have heard before) being made to a local MP for traffic lights at this location (genuinely and technically not feasible) the ADT dug up old references to this location and decided that the junction was to be closed.

The council's immediate and unequivocal stand was "over our dead bodies" until a suitable alternative was implemented.

With the intervention of the same MP and the cooperation of his responsible colleague the ADT was asked to improve the multiple junction between the Regional Road, St Julian's, Swieqi and Elia Zammit Street. The order was issued for the installation of a mini roundabout and the council was to take responsibility for an internal traffic impact assessment before enacting internal changes which would enable the limitation (not total closure) of the exit/entrance at id-Dris Street.

As usual these things take exhausting time and effort to follow up but in the meantime somebody jumped the gun and put up the restricting signage without consulting the local council.

We have been trying to get them removed as soon as possible; indeed they may well be gone by the time this letter is published.