More than 1,300 people, including residents, businessmen and non-residents, have signed a formal petition against a new one-way system in the Msida Circus area.
They also expressed concern at the lack of consultation by the local council.
Parents of children attending Achille Ferris School in School Street will stage a protest this afternoon, claiming that the new system has complicated matters for them.
The petition states: "Everyone would agree that the use of one-way systems in a wise manner can create safer roads. But this particular system has created havoc!"
The petition was sent to the Malta Transport Authority, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the Msida council, the Gzira council, the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Transport, the Office of the Ombudsman and the media.
Drivers trying to get to Msida Circus from the Rue d'Argens side are now finding it difficult to get there because of the "exaggerated" number of one-way signs, the residents have complained.
They say that the new traffic system is made even more confusing by its random nature and lack of road signs and markings.
The residents also claim that the road hierarchy has been compromised, channelling traffic less efficiently than the previous system and thereby creating dangerous junctions because secondary roads now take dominance over wider and straighter roads.
The most nerve-wracking change was making Tower Gate Street one-way, from Msida Circus to Gzira, without any adequate alternatives, one of the residents said. "A maze has been created in the surrounding side-streets to the detriment of the residents and users of these traffic ways alike."
"The council set up the one-way system without any prior consultation with the public. It was only several weeks later, when various complaints were made, that the council scheduled a meeting," said a businessman who declined to be named.
"In the end, the council went ahead with the system, failing to set up a second consultation meeting as promised," he added.
The owner of a pub in the area, Emmanuel Stivala, said that the new set-up was having a bad effect on his business while Joseph Deguara, the owner of the Atlas Store ironmongery, said sarcastically: "The mayor will get elected with flying colours the next time round!"
Resident Alex Manfré was also furious and said the matter should be tackled seriously without any further delay.
But one resident said that the new system had lessened the congestion of traffic, making it easier to get onto the Regional Road.
Msida Mayor Carmelo Grima said: "We intend consulting with the ADT about the matter after the transitory period is over and we will do what is best for everybody. But I have also learned that most of the people who are signing the petition are non-residents."
A spokesman for the ADT said: "We find no objection in principle, from the safety aspect, to the one-way system proposed by the local council.
"Having said that, the ADT always insists that an adequate consultation is carried out with all stakeholders and in fact, the fact that we did not object to the new arrangement was subject to consultation with various entities, and was issued for a trial period of three months. We therefore continue to insist that the local council consults with the relative stakeholders before implementation."