A petition of 57 Sliema businesses, requesting the “partial” pedestrianisation of Bisazza Street, has been discredited by the Resources Ministry, which has decided to stop traffic through the embellished shopping area.
It said the signatures were “collected by persons who had a declared stand against the initiative and decided to ignore the will of the majority of stakeholders”.
It also includes signatories who have businesses that are not in Bisazza Street and its immediate surroundings and who “might have different interests”, the ministry claimed.
It was reacting to the opposition of some shop owners to the total pedestrianisation of Bisazza Street on the grounds that the area could witness a substantial decrease in business by being cut off from the main artery, without providing alternative parking.
The Resources Ministry yesterday reiterated its stand that it was following the recent “overwhelming” secret vote of the majority of the Sliema business community in favour of these plans.
The result showed 60 per cent voted for a six-month trial period of complete pedestrianisation, with 47 businesses for, and 35 wanting the public transport to pass through. (The petition collected 57 in favour of the buses.)
Questioning its validity, the ministry said “some signatories complained they were misled into signing the petition after they were told about supposed government plans to remove parking from the Ferries to Manoel Island” – a claim, it said, that “could not be further from the truth”.
But the person responsible for circulating the petition has categorically denied the accusation, adding it was an insult to the businessmen because it implied they were idiots who would believe a lie.
Theresa Bartolo Parnis, Monsoon and Accessorize owner, said the claim was fabricated.
Ms Bartolo Parnis resigned from the Sliema Business Committee after the meeting, at which the vote was taken, that she described as “farcical”.
She said Resources Minister George Pullicino had stressed the vote was non-binding but was now quoting it.
“Following disgruntlement at the way the SBC meeting turned out, I realised it was not representative of the business community and decided to determine how many retailers were actually in favour and against,” she said of the petition’s motive.
As for questioning the location of the signatories’ shops, she said the same applied for the vote of the SBC, whose members are Sliema retailers, not just in Bisazza Street.
“I have been there for 16 years and have the right to safeguard what I built with the sweat of my brow,” she said. The ministr referred to the Sliema local council’s vote in favour of complete pedestrianisation, pointing out that only one Labour councillor voted against the plans and the other two abstained.It also said the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise – GRTU was in favour of the pedestrianisation plans.
As regards parking – the lack of which is a bone of contention for businesses opposing complete pedestrianisation – the ministry said “the plans for the embellishment of the Ferries area actually preserves the current parking spaces”.