Floriana petition on traffic lights

Floriana council yesterday called on the authorities to reactivate the traffic lights in St Anne Street.

The council is now collecting signatures for a petition calling for the lights to be switched on again, and mayor Publius Agius said if necessary the council would present it to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. The petition is expected to be presented in two weeks' time, just a fortnight before the lights are due to start operating again.

He said the subway underneath the thoroughfare was not accessible to the elderly.

"There are between 800 and 900 elderly people living in Floriana, and a number of them have mobility problems, making it difficult for them to use the subway," he said. The mayor stressed that despite the ramps, which he described as "dangerous", the subway was still inaccessible to a proportion of Floriana people.

The pelican lights had been temporarily switched off while work on St Anne Street is under way. The works aim to make the road safer and prepare for the launch of the Park-and-Ride scheme.

Mr Agius explained that the work was not due to be completed for four weeks. He said the initial agreement was to switch off the lights during the rush hour, and there would be an official near the lights to control traffic in case people needed to cross. However, the lights were switched off throughout the day.

He said although Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett had promised that the lights would start operating once the work was completed, residents could not wait that long.

The mayor said the lights were really needed, and described them as a "social service" particularly for the elderly. He also explained that since the residential area was on the other side of St Anne Street as the church and the school, more people needed to cross.