Lija calls for implementation of traffic plan

Lija council this afternoon presented the Malta Environment and Planning Authority with proposals they drew up following public consultations.

One of the proposals, Mayor Ian Castaldi Paris said, was for Mepa to a traffic management plan it had drawn up around two years ago.

Traffic caused by people using Lija as a shortcut, he said, was one of the village’s major problems.

Another proposal was to ban of the construction of large supermarkets and shops, which although allowed in the local plan were never built.

He called for the scheduling of several gardens in Lija to make sure they would not be developed.

Mepa chairman Austin Walker said that the authority would consider and take not of Lija’s proposals.

“We believe that local councils have a key role to play in the upcoming revision exercise of the local plan and we want to give them greater space and flexibility to focus on the issues that really matter to their locality, while at the same time ensuring a focus on national strategic objectives.”