Gozo ‘sprint’ should be held elsewhere

The sunshine which bathed Gozo on November 20 and 21 should have brought a bonanza for Gozo tourism and local business.

It was not to be. Road blocks manned by bored policemen and wardens at main roads feeding into Victoria necessitated many detours and much back-tracking. It was an hour-long commute from Għarb to Għajnsielem.

Grumpy local drivers and disgruntled weekenders were stuck in an unprecedented traffic grid-lock while confused day-tourists found the only roads to Victoria (as shown on their maps) impassable. Traffic was being routed through unfamiliar streets and residential neighbourhoods which were never designed to handle such a high traffic volume. Buses were forced to take to streets and routes never meant to take such modern monstrosities; they could hardly navigate corners and the pollution these same vehicles spewed forth would have embarrassed an environment minister.

Shopkeepers were left wondering where their Saturday custom had ended up on what was for many a time-shortened business day. People and their cars were kept prisoner in their own homes as they could neither exit their doors nor their garages, much less their streets. Even the hospital back gate to Għajn Qatet Street was reopened to through traffic. Of late, this had been ordered to be kept shut to prevent the motoring public from using the hospital grounds as a shortcut.

Was it the Pope changing his mind about paying Gozo a visit? Or a distinguished dignitary honouring us with his presence? Many found out, belatedly and to their dismay, that the chaos resulted from the Gozo Grand Sprint event. Now any motorist will tell you that Gozo’s notoriously unsafe roads hardly lend themselves to any form of motorised sport. At any given time, on any stretch of road, regardless of the speed at which one is driving, loss of control is bound to be experienced. Why couldn’t warning fliers be handed out prior to boarding the ferry at Ċirkewwa?

Truth be told, Gozitans hone their hill-climbing and slalom driving skills on the stretch of road between Mellieħa Bay and the first Mellieħa bypass roundabout, which is a more appropriate venue for a grand sprint event, I venture to say.