Valletta residents protest over traffic plan

Valletta residents gathered on top of City Gate yesterday to protest against the traffic arrangements that “will turn their world upside down” when the road over the city’s entrance is toppled next week.

“We who live near Hastings Garden and Pope Pius V Street are going to be locked into our homes like prisoners,” lawyer and resident Emmanuel Mallia said.

The residents said the long, narrow route to their front doors would create a great inconvenience. Many elderly people live there, and the problem would be heightened if an ambulance or doctor were required.

The new arrangements, Dr Mallia said, would see traffic attempting to enter Valletta by passing by the Excelsior Hotel, up from St Mark Street, then down a short bit of Old Bakery Street, up St John Street, round to Strait Street, back down Melita Street, across Old Bakery Street, again up Melita Street and finally into the neighbourhood where the residents lived.

Their proposal was that traffic should enter the capital from Castille, through South Street, into St Mark Street and up Old Bakery Street. The residents, together with their lawyer, will be presenting a statement to the local council, which they said had ignored them and did not consult them about the arrangements.

“If this symbolic protest is ignored, it means the citizen’s voice is being ignored,” Dr Mallia said.

One resident highlighted her concern about the new arrangements. She said it would be dangerous for her and her daughter, who were both unwell and had to visit hospital frequently, to be so cut off from easy access to services.

Some residents also voiced their frustration over the fact that the parking arrangements had not been revealed yet.

“Sometimes my children come to Valletta to see me but end up leaving because they don’t find any parking space,” one elderly resident said. People who live in Valletta were already at a disadvantage when they need works to be carried out at their homes, because contractors could not easily access the area with their large vehicles, Dr Mallia said.

This was only going to be made worse by the new arrangements.