Updated: Floriana council has nothing to do with new traffic arrangements
Buses parked at Triq Sarria.
(Adds Transport Malta's reaction)
Floriana Council has washed its hands from any problems that might arise from new traffic arrangements which came into effect today.The traffic arrangements were introduced because of works on the new Valletta terminus.
Mayor Nigel Holland told a news conference that during a meeting with Transport Malta last Thursday, the council was given 24 hours to come up with a proposal as to where buses could park until the necessary work was done.
The council, he said, proposed Notre Dame Ditch but the proposal was not accepted because of the police offices and fire station.
The council was told that the longer distance to the Triton Fountain would hinder coordination.
So buses were today parking around the Granaries and at Triq il-Mall taking up residential parking spaces, Mr Holland said.
He pointed out that Triq Sarria was expected to be closed for at least one month after which it would probably be reopened in only one lane.
The work related to the terminus was expected to take 13 weeks.
Mr Holland said when asked that a meeting to discuss arrangements for carnival was being held on Tuesday between the Carnival Committee, Transport Malta, the police and the council.
TRANSPORT MALTA'S REACTION
Transport Malta reiterated that the current temporary traffic and parking arrangements in Floriana and its periphery were the best solution in the present circumstances. It regretted the inconvenience caused to the Floriana residents and business community.
Transport Malta said that various proposals were considered which included the parking of buses at Notre Dame Ditch; the utilisation of the public car parks and the Park and Ride and the use of Triq Sarria as an overlay for buses.
For various reasons including manoeuvrability of buses, co-ordination of overlay bus operations, general traffic management and safety measures for road users, it was decided that the most feasible option that would cause the least inconvenience would be the closure of Triq Sarria.
Forming an integral part of the Public Transport Reform, the works on the Valletta Bus Terminus, in their entirety, were expected to be completed by the end of June, it said.
Traffic management schemes would be updated as necessary, however, the current measures were expected to remain in place for the coming four weeks.
The new terminus, Transport Malta said, would see the introduction of adequate boarding areas for passengers and state-of-the-art information displays.
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Emanuel Farrugia
Feb 4th 2011, 19:27
Ta' kuljum niftahru kemm dan il-pajjiz qieghed jimxi 'l quddiem, issa kemm ilna membri shah ta' l-Unjoni Ewropea. Izda, mall-ewwel wiehed jinduna kemm f'dan il-pajjiz hawn hafna hela ta' rizorsi specjalment issa li bdejna niftahru bit-Trasport Pubbliku. Illum minn dahal il-Belt mall-ewwel wiehed induna u ra b'ghajnejh membri tat-Trasport Pubbliku u Wardens fl-area tal-Furjana u faccata tal-Phoenicia Hotel, jippassiggaw u jghaddu z-zmien bin-nies li kienu ghaddejjin minn hdejhom fuq il-bankini, taparsi qeghdin jaghmlu xogholhom. Fejn qeghda 'l maturita u l-motivazzjoni ta' dawn il-haddiema? Emanuel Farrugia former Executive Secretary Mtarfa Local Council
Mario Mizzi
Feb 4th 2011, 21:33
Mr. Farrugia,
Can you please explain why you always mention your previous work place ? Does this has any effect on your comments ?
Emanuel Farrugia
Feb 4th 2011, 21:49
Il-verita twegga Sur Mizzi u naf sew x'qieghed nghid.
Emanuel Farrugia former Executive Secretary Mtarfa Local Council
Anthony Cardona
Mar 5th 2011, 10:52
Please Mr Farrugia, enlighten us why you always mention your former job? Your truth seems to be limited to some - not that I care much what was your former job to be sincere. What I care is comments with substance so maybe at the end of the day I would have learned something.
J.Mifsud
Feb 4th 2011, 17:53
That's a good way to kill business in Valletta and Floriana. If customers don;t find a parking space, they drive through and go to other shopping centres. As for going by bus, only people who don;t have cars go by bus since the bus service is not efficient.
MBorg
Feb 4th 2011, 17:51
Carmel Garcia
Feb 4th 2011, 14:24
Ara kollox bla pjan isir hawn Malta. Basta nivvintaw il-progetti godda, ma narawx kif ser insolvu problemi minn qabel jibda l-progett. u le le, jahasra.
e busuttil;
Feb 4th 2011, 16:54
Ma tantx naqbel miegħek sieħbi!
Pjan hemm żgur - imma biex jeliminaw kemm jistgħu il-parking. X'imħatra li l-parking f'dawn it-toroq se jonqos drastikament?!?!?
Biex imbagħad in-nies ikollhom bilfors u mhux b'għażla jużaw karozzi tal-linja - u minn fuq wara ngħidu li s-sistema ġdida rnexxiet!!!
John Frendo
Feb 4th 2011, 14:02
Serves the residents right for not having a garage. As others have noted, the Floriana local council discriminates against drivers from other localities against Article 45(1) of the Constitution of Malta.
Article 45. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-articles (4), (5) and (7) of this article, no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect.
Sub-articles (4),(5) and (7) are not relevant.
Reserved parking is a blatant discrimination against other drivers not from the locality by an official organ of local government including the Mayor himself. When are the police going to take action to stop the reserved parking schemes and Parliament going to repeal the reserved parking schemes including the Valletta CVA which is another perfect example of blatant discrimination prohibited by the Constitution of Malta.
S.T. Grech
Feb 4th 2011, 14:34
You are dead right sir.
Definition of reserved parking for Valletta Residents.
Time: 6.30am on weekdays:
White parking areas (for visitors) ALREADY FULL-UP mostly with Valletta residents' cars.
Other off-street parking areas reserved for Valletta residents: ALMOST EMPTY
Level playing field indeed!!
Marvin Mizzi
Feb 4th 2011, 14:44
If you refer to the CVA ... the people who are mostly effective negatively by the system..... are the residents who after coming home for work they barely find empty slot where to park .....not the reserved parking that you think the residents of Valletta and Floriana have....As for your comment that residents should have a garage..... you are speaking of Valletta and Floriana.... not of villages with new buildings that can be made to accomdate garages... And finally as for the comment of discrimation ..... the discrimation is done to the residents of Valletta and Floriana when on many occasions either we can leave our home or we cannot go back as the roads are closed to access but other come and enjoy them...e.g Notte Bianca's etc.
John Frendo
Feb 4th 2011, 15:05
Marvin Mizzi No Marvin, the discrimination is against those not from the locality which is strictly prohibited by the Constitution. Difficulty to find garages does not men that the Local Council or anyone can discriminate against the other non-resident drivers. I refer you to the judgment of the First Hall of the Civil Court delivered by Mr justice Lino Farrugia Sacco on 31 January 2007 Citazzjoni Nru 949/2004 Maria Victoria u Joseph konjugi Borg vs Sindku u Segretarju Ezekuttiv in rpprezentanza tal-Kunsill Lokali Pietà.
Page 9. ...Dak li għamel il-Kunsill ma kienx sempliciment sinjali tat-traffiku bhal tabelli fit-toroq u sinjali fl-art biex jirregola c-cirkolazzjoni tattraffiku APPLIKABBLI GHAL KULHADD (Court emphasis). Zona riservata tista' tkun gustifikata bhala mizura ta' sigurtà [minhabba interess pubbliku parking ta; vetturi bil-flus, jew banka tal-lottu, jew tfal li jattendu l-iskola] jew fuq bazi umanitarja [ghal persuni b'dizabilitá]. Izda dak li ghamel il-Kunsill kien li jivvantagga lir-residenti ta' lokalita' fuq dawk ta' lokalita' ohra u ma hemm ebda interess pubbliku....
In the opertive part of the judgment, apart from declaring that what the councildid was outside its power, the Court said that "minbarra li hija mizura preferenzjali".
John Frendo
Feb 4th 2011, 15:13
2
This means that since it is preferential it is discriminatory and against the provisions of the Constitution which is the supreme law of Malta.
The CVA is discriminatory in that non-residents have to also pay while Valletta residents do not. I am not saying that they should, but neither should non-residents.
As anyone can see, this is blatant discrimination against the Constitution of Malta being perpetrated by the Government which enacted the relevant regulations and approved such parking schemes and by the Local Councils where such schemes have been implemented when such schemes had already been declared as favouring residents and therefore discriminatory vis-a-vis the non-residents against the provisions of the Constitution of Malta.
JOE INGUANEZ
Feb 4th 2011, 13:47
What the Floriana Local Council should do instead of issuing press releases is to suspend all "no parking" signs". The Council is killing business life in Floriana.... who will dare shop at floriana at the risk of a parking fine!
David Torpiano
Feb 5th 2011, 11:12
Kieku tghix hawn tara l-affarijiet mod iehor....
Jien gieli domt 35 minuta biex sibt parking
fil-lokalita fejn noqhod, jekk inkun sibt!
Nissuggerilek tmur sal-Birgu u tara kemm hemm
residential parking spaces. Il-kwanitita disponibbli ghar-
residenti Furjanizi hi ridikola meta wiehed jipparaguna.
U nassigurak li l-Birgu hadd ma miet bil-guh.