Dangerous

• The crossroads formed by Hospital Street and Mimosa Street, in Guardamangia, often looks like something out of a Buster Keaton film. Traffic comes from all four junctions and each crossflow into one of the other three. The addition of two different routes for buses and haphazard parking by people wishing to use the shops in the area makes the whole issue even more complicated. Some traffic management is urgently called for.

Durations

• In order to cut down on journey time, many people are seeking to obtain lifts to or from their destinations, thus making only one journey by public transport. As a gesture of goodwill, it would be nice of Arriva to introduce a new tariff: a one-way ticket. In the long run, it would actually make the company money because more people would be tempted to avail themselves of it. People would gladly pay for such a service.

Definitions

• On July 11, street cleaners were seen at 7 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. in the Birkirkara area. It would be fantastic if, each time a particular neighbourhood was expecting an influx of people, such care would be taken with overall locality cleanliness. Alas, the reality is far different. The skips at bring-in sites are often full to overflowing and the stench emanating from skips is enough to stop people from opening the lids and, instead, dumping bags around them.

Destinations

• It is obvious that whoever compiled the lists of regulations and destinations for Arriva does not have a proper grasp of Maltese. Literal translations such as “Jekk jogħġbok itilgħu abbord bil-kodiċi Arriva” (Please follow the Arriva regulations), ridiculous misspelled statements such as “Aħna mhux se nittollergħu” and place-names given as Iż-Żabbar indicate that professional translators were not employed at least to proofread the final drafts of the documents.

Demeaning

• It is some people’s opinion that taking part in a public event, specifically one in which one stands to gain a position or win a prize, is tantamount to exposing oneself to ridicule. This attitude is further heightened by the fact that the judges in these events, whether they are held in public arenas or televised, sometimes pass comments that humiliate the contestants. This is unfair.

Decisions

• Every so often someone in authority gets a hare-brained idea and, because he has the power to actuate it, it gets carried through. A fine example of this was the “clearing” of Merchants Street in Valletta and the boasts following the exercise about how it was “reclaimed” for pedestrians. However, it would seem that the plans were altered to give the public spaces away for free to food outlets in the area so that they can accommodate more customers than their shops seat.

Dreary

• Whenever there is an activity at Romeo Romano Gardens in Sta Venera, the area is spruced up. Otherwise, the general atmosphere is dreary, untidy and dirty. Some statues are broken and the ponds would look much more cheerful if they were kept clean and full of water.

Downtime

• Several streets have sleeping policemen across them in order to make it clear to motorists that high speeds along them are not appreciated. The problem, however, is that certain drivers do not care to slow down and this generates unnecessary noise and exhaust pollution from vehicles. Moreover, these speed bumps are sometimes too high for motorcycles to tackle and riders have to veer to the side of the road because of them.

Duped

• It would be interesting to find out exactly how many hospital appointments have had to be rescheduled and how many man-hours of work have been missed since the introduction of the new bus service. The statistics should be an eye opener towards the reintroduction of some of the old routes, which, moreover, would be less wasteful of fuel and less conducive to confusion of the masses.

Dogged

• It would be funny were it not pathetic. Dogs are specifically prohibited from swimming in public beaches. And, yet, rude humans, like the ones who left behind their barbecue charcoal at Bognor Beach, in Buġibba, having lit a fire on the rocks themselves, are allowed to get away with it. How about having night-time patrols specifically intended to check this kind of abuse?

Dutiful

• Some politicians have already begun making their pre-election rounds, boasting that they are not “like the others” who only turn up when it was close enough for residents to remember to vote for them. However, they fail to understand that, apart from the fact that self-praise is no recommendation, the fact that they promise to get back on something, but never do, promptly loses them any Brownie points they would have gained.

Dreadful

• On Maundy Thursday, a token heavy plant was seen in Palazz l-Aħmar Street, Sta Venera. Residents assumed that the work would go ahead as had been promised by successive administrations but they were grossly mistaken. Tarmac started being laid last Friday and the pall of fine white dust abated a little. The half-dead trees ensconced in a bed of concrete are still there, though.

Delayed

• The new set of traffic lights near the Independence Monument in Floriana is already causing enough traffic jams at the end of St Anne Street, especially during the rush hour. Imagine how bad the situation gets when there is a traffic accident, however insignificant, in the area. That was the case last Thursday morning and, yet, wardens take their time to arrive. Why not have a couple of them stationed there during the peak hours?