Charles Xuereb, Sliema
Msida roundabout jams
In recent decades a lot of effort has been directed at addressing traffic management at the Msida roundabout mostly to ease jams during rush hour. On March 16, a reader, Jo Cachia from Xgħajra, complained about driver confusion caused by the sudden loss of access to one of the present four lanes, the slip road which used to lead cars coming from Valletta to Rue d’Argens towards Sliema.
This lane has unexpectedly been restricted only to drivers wishing to proceed back to Valletta! No official advice has been offered to commuters since. Sliema traffic coming from Valletta has now been crammed into the remaining three lanes which also serve Birkirkara and St Julians. Over the past days one could note that the slip road has been turned into an idle lane.
A rational explanation seems overdue. If motorists were slowing traffic when exiting from the slip road to proceed to Rue d’Argens, creating a bigger problem is far from being the best solution. Why have a slip road at all then? The number of commuters returning to Valletta or coming down from Guardamangia into the traffic mayhem of Msida to go to Valletta when there are better and shorter connections, definitely does not justify such a loss of much-needed flow of traffic at the Msida roundabout.
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DVella
Mar 30th 2011, 12:56
Just for general information and in an attempt to reach the more moronic amongst us . . . the so-called slip road WAS NEVER intended for vehicles turning towards Rue D'Argens . . . that slip road is for vehicles wanting to turn back towards Valletta. The reason its use to bypass the right hand set of lights which WERE the correct lane to use for Msida and Rue D'Argens became standard behavious is due to the selfishness and idiocy of local drivers that are somehow incapable of understanding the danger they are causing to themselves and to others in cutting across three lanes of traffic, not to mention the inconvenience of the traffic congestion they inevitable cause by interrupting the flow of vehicles from the legitimate lanes . . . obviously the uselessness of our responsible authorities and their absolute inability to enforce the slip-road's proper use was also instrumental!! And before any self-appointed 'expert' starts to argue otherwise . . . wait until you are exiting the lights coming from Valley Road in the direction of Valletta and some moron with the IQ of a small vegetable sideswipes your vehicle with his tart's handbag of a car!