Turning Floriana’s congested St Anne Street into a pedestrianised garden strip is a great idea that would benefit the locality and visitors to Valletta, according to the mayors of the two neighbouring localities.
“It is a good and innovative proposal. If it’s taken to the next level, it will definitely give a huge boost to the wonderful character of St Anne Street and, of course, Floriana,” the locality’s mayor, Davina Sammut Hili, said.
She said the council would be meeting Transport Minister Joe Mizzi next month to discuss the concept proposed by four young architects.
The idea is to turn Floriana back into the garden locality it was originally built to be by removing cars from its main road and regenerating the unused Pope John Paul II Square.
Traffic would pass through a tunnel starting near the Lion Fountain and ending just before the roundabout leading into the capital.
Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli agreed such a project would be beneficial to everyone.
“Both Valletta and Floriana are the most polluted areas in Malta and this project would essentially help with that. I agree with this type of project because we need more green areas,” he said.
Architect Ian Camilleri Cassar, a partner at DHi Periti in Floriana, told The Sunday Times of Malta last month the idea of doing something about Floriana was the result of him working there for the past eight years, which made him realise that the locality was perceived by many as merely a road into Valletta.
A year ago, the Floriana council approached him to develop a concept to turn Pope John Paul II Square into a usable space. He brought together a team – consisting of Bernard Vella, 32, and Anna Gallo, 36, and junior architect Adam Brincat, 25 – to start working on a proposal. They came up with a two-pronged project: St Anne Street garden strip and reviving the square. They proposed screening off the square from the road with a line of trees and creating a series of steps leading to the area. This would be converted into a space for people to enjoy. The granaries would remain untouched.
The concept was also welcomed by Christopher Mintoff, president of the Malta Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers, who said such proposals exposed the talent and innovation young architects were capable of.
“It shows projects are not all about asphalt... They could also serve to inspire and influence other localities,” he said.
He said the technicalities would have to be studied but the project could evolve into something doable.