Floriana council, ADT in tiff over traffic lights

The Floriana local council has called on the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) to switch on the traffic lights in St Anne Street.

The locality, the council said, had a high percentage of elderly persons with mobility problems which made it extremely difficult for them to use the subways as they were expected to by the authority.

Works started last week on the road leading to Portes-des-Bombes to make this thoroughfare safer and to pave the way for the launching of the park-and-ride scheme.

As a measure aimed at minimising traffic interruptions along St Anne Street, the ADT switched off the traffic lights. Two subways there have just been upgraded and better lighting has been installed to make them more user-friendly.

But the council strongly deplored the ADT's unilateral decision to switch off the traffic lights, even after it (the council) had repeatedly objected.

The council said that while it appreciated the need to render traffic in the area safer, it could not accept that residents were deprived of such an essential service. It therefore called upon the authority to reverse its decision immediately and to resume operating the traffic lights before some serious accident occurs.

It said it was also contemplating appropriate measures to safeguard the rights of residents if the ADT failed to reverse its decision.

But the ADT held its ground. It said yesterday the lights had been switched off last week to allow traffic to flow more smoothly. To ensure the safety of pedestrians, refurbishing works on both underpasses situated under St Anne's Street were carried out last month. The works included the plastering and rendering of all internal and external walls, the painting of all railings and existing gates, the removal of any damaged wall tiles and the changing of existing lights.

Moreover, one of the subways had ramped accesses at both ends which made it easily accessible by the elderly and the mobility impaired.

"Although there are clear signs on the pelican light pole instructing people to use the subway, it is unfortunately still a fact that pedestrians will always try to take the shortest or easiest route when crossing a road even if it entails risking their lives.

"The ADT considers the use of underpasses as a safer option to pelican crossings from a traffic safety point of view. Pelican crossings are only introduced when it is impossible to have an alternative such as an underpass or an overpass on such a busy thoroughfare."

It said underpasses were the recommended type of crossing for arterial and distributor roads especially where traffic volumes were high as was the case in St Anne Street.

The ADT urged pedestrians to make use of the underpasses at all times.