Drivers and commuters who pass through Balzan centre are aware of the commendable project undertaken by the Balzan council to pave and embellish the village square, a project part-financed by the European Union.

As a result of works in progress, Main Street, from St Gabriel Band Club to Balzan Square, had to be closed to traffic for quite some months and alternative provisional traffic arrangements were put in place.

According to these new arrangements, vehicles (including heavy vehicles, delivery vans, minibuses, and at times even Arriva buses) coming from Attard and Lija down Main Street in Balzan were directed to Annunciation Street through the 2.4-metre wide stretch of road between St Gabriel Club and the church parvis.

One need not be a luminary to predict the consequences of this mistaken decision.

Just a few weeks had elapsed when a good part of the balu-straded boundary wall lining the church parvis was badly knocked and heavily damaged. It was eventually dismantled as it became even dangerous to pedestrians.

Even the St Gabriel Club façade was damaged.

The people responsible for the decision regarding the new traffic arrangements either lack foresight or are not sensitive enough to the village heritage, or both.

Otherwise they would have made safer and more sensible traffic arrangements.

We urge Transport Malta and the local council to follow up the case seriously and see to it that people shoulder their responsibility. The least we can do is to strongly and firmly demand that the church parvis be properly repaired and professionally restored to its former state, preferably before the village festa. We urge that this area be permanently pedestrianised as was the case some years back with that part of Idmejda Street close to the Melita.