On the Dot...

The area in Gzira between Testaferrata Street and the public gardens is a motorist's nightmare. Traffic tends to accumulate at the intersection throughout the day. As not many drivers are ready, willing, or able to give way because of the drivers coming from different directions, bottlenecks are usually dissolved in dribbles.

Tree Topping

If the three political parties would just agree about this one, there ought to be more than 280,000 new trees planted annually. The suggestion is simple: the ADT should contribute a tree for every vehicle licence renewal made annually. Each tree would to a certain extent offset the amount of pollution the car it represents emits through its exhaust pipe.

Firing Squad

How ironic that those who commented negatively on the images of children handling safe weapons on the AFM Open Day keep mum about the dangerous loaded shotguns one can often see in open and not-so-open countryside. The army has been holding its popular open day since at least 1995. So why the hullabaloo now?

This Loyalty

MCP parking cardholders have a floor reserved for them, probably as a sign of recognition by the operators for taking long-term subscriptions. Alas, when big events in the city or its whereabouts take place, as was the case this weekend, the area is open for all with the result that loyal customers have to seek elsewhere!

Sound Return

A foreigner was sentenced to just over a year's imprisonment for causing damages in the region of Lm170 at the Ta' Kandja detention centre. Would it not have been better to order this person do some form of voluntary work? Sending him to prison will only cost the nation further, without payback.

Book Wormed

In some instances there is at least as much as Lm9 difference in the price of a book needed for tertiary education, when bought from a library in Msida, and that bought from another in Valletta. Moreover, in the first case, one has to pay a non-returnable deposit of Lm2 on each book ordered. Surely this is because it is assumed that a captive audience will not "go all the way to Valletta" in order to save money!

Bright Light

It is wonderful to note that a team of Enemalta staff designed and produced a new control system for boilers number five and six at the Marsa power station. This means the country is now some Lm70,000 better off. These workers deserve to be rewarded - and the facility given to others, in other places, to go ahead with pilot projects relevant to their place of work.

Clothe Horses

It would appear that the phenomenon of hanging clothes out to dry in balconies is unacceptable everywhere, and not only in tourist areas. Sometimes, indeed, it is the inevitable result of the building owners' greed, when not enough central courtyard or roof space would have been allocated to tenements in shared buildings. Mepa ought to intervene.

Bus Tickets

Some old buses have a rather high first step. One such bus even has a crescent-moon shape that covers only half the width of the entrance to the bus. There is no handrail on either side, either. This can make boarding and descending from the bus doubly difficult.

Bags Full

When children lug heavy books to and from school it may not be their fault after all. One particular school in the central part of the island has supplied its students with desks that are capable of holding several books. The children are instructed to take home only the ones they specifically need to do their homework. Yet, children are ordered to clear their desks at the end of the school day.

Road Facts

Is there any particular reason why Ibrag Road, in Swieqi, was only partly surfaced with tarmac? This could not possibly be the reason why the garbage collection trucks render an unreliable service. To date, there are still rusty oil tanks decorating the rubble walls along the street, and the two-way traffic system appears specifically designed to cause constant bottlenecks.