The Valletta local council says it plans to reopen Archbishop Street to traffic despite transport authorities, businesses and the V18 Foundation being against it, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Valletta Mayor Alexiei Dingli said the council had agreed to reopen the closed stretch of the road following a vote by councillors on Thursday evening.

“The road was closed during works to the Palace façade but was always going to open after the works were completed,” he said.

Transport Malta, however, are disputing this, insisting such decisions can only be taken after being approved by the Traffic Management Committee. A spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry said the request for the pedestrianisation of part of Archbishop Street had been made back in November 2015. Transport Malta, she added, had contacted the Valletta local council twice, on November 26 and December 9, to discuss the proposal but had received no feedback. Prof. Dingli, meanwhile, said the council’s main concern over the closure was the number of residential parking slots lost. Resident John Cortis, who lives on the corner of the street, said the closure had exacerbated the capital’s already serious parking problem.

This is ridiculous, after the months of dust and works we have endured

“There is nowhere to park in Valletta. Closing that area off to cars and removing parking spots in the process may have been good for restaurants in the area but definitely not for us residents,” he said. The local business community, however, was less satisfied with the news of the planned road reopening.

“This is ridiculous, after the months of dust and works we have endured. The works are winding up and if the road is opened to traffic we won’t be able to set up tables outside to take advantage of foot traffic,” said one business owner, who asked not to be named. Prof. Dingli said the road would be reopened during this weekend’s carnival celebrations to allow large floats to access St George’s Square. The road would then remain open “as was originally planned”.

Another business owner, however, raised concerns that the lumbering floats posed a risk to the palace façade. “The last time floats passed through this street they scraped against the walls. Let’s hope this doesn’t repeat itself,” he said.

Valletta 2018 Foundation chairman Jason Micallef expressed surprise at the council’s decision, saying this went against what had previously been agreed. He said the closing-off of Archbishop Street and surrounding area formed part of the foundation’s social regeneration plan.

The Valletta council, he added, had not objected to the original decision for the road to be permanently closed to traffic. “This is news to me and I can’t understand why the council would take such a decision,” he said.