Buses amid pedestrians on Buġibba coast road

My suggestion to the St Paul's Bay local council and the ADT more than three years ago - by means of a letter published in The Sunday Times (January, 2005) - to make part of the Buġibba coast road a pedestrian zone during summer evenings, has now been thankfully put into action.

On the first Saturday it came into force, strollers took to the street right away, instead of remaining crammed on the pavements. There was even a marching Maltese brass band adding a welcome festive element all along the car-free stretch of road.

Regrettably, however, the measure looked ineffective and half-hearted the way it has been implemented. This is because buses were still allowed to pass through the pedestrian zone. A bus coming downhill from the Bayside Restaurant towards Main Square at about 9.30 p.m. on Saturday was driven at an excessive speed, with the driver blowing the horn repeatedly.

Strollers in the middle of the road were seen scrambling for safety towards the pavements, some of them dragging children and pushchairs away from the speeding bus!

My plea to the local council and ADT is to enforce the pedestrianisation on a daily basis, and not limit it to weekends; and to find an alternative route for buses during the few hours when the measure is active each evening.