Scraping through, with impunity

Drivers of heavy vehicles are often disregarding the law and attempting to squeeze through the narrow streets of Lija to the anger of residents.

Residents watch helplessly as cranes scrape the old walls to get through. One frustrated resident sent these photographs of a crane and tractor driving with great difficulty through narrow Preca Street.

These are not, by far, the only heavy vehicles to have used this road. Residents have questioned why smaller machinery is not used if drivers have no alternative but to work in the confines of these streets.

"The road was surely not built to cater for this kind of weight. The walls of these narrow streets have been grazed by wide vehicles countless times," one resident said.

When contacted, Lija mayor Magda Magri Naudi said the council was working hard to deal with this recurring problem and the wardens had been instrumental in reducing the frequency of heavy vehicles passing illegally through narrow roads.

However, she pointed out that the council issued permits for heavy vehicles which needed to be used for work in these particular streets.

"We have discussed this issue numerous times and it is not easy to find a solution. It is also impossible to have wardens stationed along these streets 24 hours a day," Ms Magri Naudi said.

"To eliminate this problem once and for all, we residents have to take on the civic duty of reporting to the Birkirkara police station the heavy vehicles passing through the streets," she said.

When it was pointed out that residents may not be prepared to go to court to back up their report, Ms Magri Naudi reiterated that the public had a part to play in enforcement.

"We are doing our very best - we all have to work together if we want this situation to stop once and for all."