Speed cameras were yesterday installed on St Paul’s Bay bypass, taking drivers aback as they sped along one of Malta’s few long stretches of uninterrupted road.

The move, prompted by a magistrate’s recent recommendation, immediately sparked a Facebook petition calling for their removal.

The cameras had not yet been activated yesterday and signs indicating the speed limit were not up, but a Transport Malta spokesman said it had been set at 80 kilometres per hour, the national speed limit.

In a statement, Transport Malta said it had given the go-ahead to the Local Councils Northern Regional Committee to install the cameras.

We are fed up...they race up and down nearly every day

“The committee had been advocating the installation of such cameras as residents have complained of inconvenience related to excessive speeding.

“The authority has also taken on board strong recommendations made in a judgment during a recent traffic sitting presided over by Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, who urged the authority to consider the installation of a speed camera to curb speeding.”

Road accident statistics collated by the police and Transport Malta show there have been a number of traffic accidents on the bypass, some of them fatal.

There had been an attempt to place cameras on the bypass a couple of years ago and poles were installed, but nothing came of it.

In July last year, people who live near St Paul’s Bay bypass called for cameras to be put up, telling Times of Malta the road had become dangerous and was being used as an illegal racetrack.

“We are fed up. Loud noise from speeding vehicles all night has become the norm. They race up and down, it happens nearly every day now,” a frustrated resident had said.

However, the reaction of many yesterday was less than enthusiastic.

Some argued that rather than restricting the speed on the road, which is outside a built-up area, police should patrol it at night to clamp down on abuse.