The drain grate which caused a cyclist to fracture her jaw will be covered temporaily until a contractor is hired to carry out the "necessary works", the Gżira local council said yesterday.
Cyclist Alison Zammit Endrich was injured recently when her tyre got stuck in a drain grate in Gżira whose slots lie parallel to the direction of traffic rather than at right angles.
She threatened to sue the authorities to urge them to make the roads safer for cyclists by providing suitable bicycle lanes.
The council said it discussed the issue on Wednesday, after the story was carried in The Times.
It pointed out that the water catchment was installed over 20 years ago by the government and its main concern was to take up this matter with the authorities to remove any danger from the road.
"In fact, contact has already been made with the Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs to address this issue and they informed us that instructions had been given to temporarily cover this catchment, until a contractor is hired to carry out the necessary works."
Mayor Chris Bonett said that while the road fell under the council's jurisdiction, the council was not responsible for the delineation of bus lanes, road aligments or the introduction of bicycle lanes.
"These are the sole responsibility of Transport Malta and the council executes the orders issued by this authority."
The council shared its solidarity with Ms Zammit Endrich, who was injured in the "unfortunate" incident. However, it agreed with the recommendation of Transport Malta that for their own sake, nobody is to drive or cycle through any bus lane.
While the incident happened on a bus lane, other cyclists who spoke to The Times complained that there were very few options available to Ms Zammit Endrich because cyclists were not allowed to ride on pavements and the open road would have been more dangerous.
Last week, Transport Malta said it would hold a site inspection to check whether there was a safety hazard.
A spokesman for the authority added that the road in question fell under the responsibility of the local council, so if a safety hazard was found, the council would be instructed to carry out the necessary works.