Access to Majjistral Park
Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi
Card-controlled gates at all vehicle access points in Majjistral Park is one of the changes being proposed to the management plan for the Mellieħa site.
In a launch of a public consultation exercise, the board members yesterday discussed how they propose to regulate vehicle entrance by producing free pass cards and permits for anyone who wishes to enter the park with a vehicle.
This move was motivated after numerous places on the site were trampled by off-roaders. This is not the only form of vandalism sustained by the site and these acts have prompted heightened monitoring through the introduction of wardens.
Majjistral Nature and History Park, located in the northwest, stretches from Golden Bay to Anchor Bay. The area came under legal protection in 2007 and the government gave its management over to Heritage Parks Federation composed of three NGOs, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Gaia Foundation and Nature Trust.
The park, which opened its doors two years ago, works on habitat rehabilitation, dissemination of environment information, upkeep of local beaches, site monitoring, education and research on the site. Many activities have been carried out in the park, including guided walks, clean-ups and kayaking along the coastal areas.
This is the second phase of consultations and comes after the management plan was submitted and accepted by the Malta Environment Planning Authority.
The plan and proposals can be viewed online on www.majjistral.org and feedback will be received by the board until September 15.
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Albert Farrugia
Jul 28th 2010, 11:24
Off-roading in Malta????? of course it should not be allowed....or else they could be given Maghtab Heights. When are the Maltese going to come to terms with the limitations of living on a 320 sq km island on which trample 413,000 people???
J.Brincat
Jul 28th 2010, 13:14
you on stuff or something??
first you say it should not be allowed, but then you contradict yourself in the same sentence..
for your info Maghtab is proposed for another family park... as if we do not have enough of those,
there is one little issue in this whole thing. within the park area there are a number of roads (tracks) marked on a map, which no NGO can decide to close off... or else a change in laws is required..
So i ask these NGO's to leave open these tracks... as they do abroad in national parks, where even main roads pass through such parks...
but and here is the crooks of it all... if anyone is caught off these marked tracks, lobby for heavy fines...
let these people who want to pass through these parks with their vehicles, even if need be at allocated times (decent ones of course) but if they budge an inch from the designated tracks, which are not environmentally sensitive because they have been used for a number of years, now fine them heavily..
joe borg
Jul 28th 2010, 16:53
why not allow offroading in malta??
who told you that this should be done in natural areas.. the government should allocate a piece of land for this purpose.. so much land has been wasted on football grounds.. why not waste anpther piece of land on motorsports??
someone else mentioned the economic benefit.. well I can assure you that there there is actually a small economy that is run by motosports enthusiasts.. mechanics, panel beaters, sprayers, parts shops, maltapost etc etc...
furthermore.. if there is an allocate dspace, international events on smll scale can be easily organised..
sue arnett
Jul 28th 2010, 11:05
Well said Mr borg. Why is it that it is always the off roaders that get the blame? And yet its the off roaders who get called upon to help collect the loads of rubbish collected from beaches etc...
C Cassar
Jul 28th 2010, 14:25
off-roaders destroy vegetation and also the surface layers of top soil, so nothing else can grow. They are a real killer to the natural vegetation found in Malta.
The suggestion of using part og Mahtab should suffice for this pastime where no damage can be done to any natural surface.
Also, there's enough air pollution in Malta already produced by private vehicles, so pointless use of more vehicles for no relative economic benefit should be stopped.
joe borg
Jul 28th 2010, 10:35
" This move was motivated after numerous places on the site were trampled by off-roaders. This is not the only form of vandalism sustained by the site and these acts have prompted heightened monitoring through the introduction of wardens."
\May I ask who decided that offroaders are vandals??
have these people ever been given any place where to practice their sports??
Does anyone have a vahgue idea of the large amounts of land that have been given to football clubs?? now.. can anyone recall the amount of land that has been given to motorsports enthusiats?? almost none!!
Does anyone have an idea of the amount of investment that is being done in football by the government... and what about motorsports??!
Does anyone have an idea of how many successes we have brought from abroad through football?? almost none.. now have a look at motorsports.. you may be surprised...
one thing i would like to point out...
when ever an offroader passes through a place.. next year there will be grass again.. whenever a large piece of land is used to build football grounds.. no more grass will grow!!
J. Borg
Jul 28th 2010, 12:49
Mr. Borg,
Just lobby government and collect funds through personal initiatives, so that a specific area (proportionate to our inherent limited size) be allocated/constructed for off-roading....but definitely not drive over garigue and the countryside, scaring the landscape and seabed like Selmun.
and by the way.....driving on roads by Maltese standards isn't off-roading enough ;)
Anthony Formosa
Jul 28th 2010, 10:31
Can anyone guarantee that there will be no loaded trucks entering this area for development and cause another form of vandalism? Time will tell, hopefully I'm wrong.