Valletta residents have just received a traffic direction map outlining the changes in traffic flow following the demolition of City Gate. It seems that traffic experts have not visited the area before plotting their new map. Residents living in the north-western part of the capital are in for a hard time with a couple of thousand cars a day fuming their way through a residential core.
Whereas currently, traffic from Castille Square proceeds uninterruptedly towards the Central Bank, St James Cavalier, City Gate and all along Hastings Garden – that is, of little inconvenience to residents – it is now being proposed that incoming traffic heading towards the Hastings area would have to be diverted through residential roads in a maze involving St Mark Street, Old Bakery Street, Strait Street, Melita Street, St Biagio Street, South Street and Old Mint Street until finally reaching Hastings. Unbelievable!
Such an illogical plan seems to ignore the fact that residential roads in Valletta are narrow, populated and pose a number of accident blind spots (a case in point is the exit from St Mark Street corner with Old Mint Street). Sharp corners are so dangerous in the area that convex traffic safety mirrors are all over the place and yet, residents would tell you that accidents occur on a weekly basis in sharp corners. If thousands of vehicles are expected to drive their way daily, God forbid what can happen.
The area is likewise busy with small grocery shops, vendors, offices and small businesses that are serviced through delivery vans and their like. Servicing outlets would no longer be possible as otherwise traffic would be completely jammed. Further still, only a limited number of vans are currently passing through these narrow roads, often driving on pavements posing risks to passers-by.
New plans redirecting all traffic, irrespective of size and scope, would create an even bigger risk to pedestrians. There is no mention of parking spaces that will have to be sacrificed in these residential roads due to increased traffic.
Little is being said on air quality. With thousands of vehicles moving around slowly in narrow roads, on low gears, blocked in traffic and driving uphill, the exhaust levels are bound to multiply. Residents in the area dry clothes in balconies, as they have no other option and their only source of fresh air are usually windows perched on these roads.
I wonder whether other feasible options were considered to redirect traffic in Valletta, such as traffic entering through St John’s ditch, exiting in Mill Street via a forgotten, short tunnel that is currently being excavated. Another feasible option is to lead traffic all along Old Mint Street to one direction while having a parallel Old Bakery Street going to the opposite direction. Through this plan, traffic towards Hastings would just have to enter St Mark Street, driving up Old Mint Street and you’re there – avoiding the hassle of at least four minor roads.
The list is endless. I sincerely suggest an urgent meeting with residents in the area who were never consulted on the matter. I’m told that the Valletta local council was never called for a meeting. Such attitude is emblematic in Malta. If the proposed traffic management plan comes into force, we are in for another failure similar to the introduction of CVA which was likewise introduced following so-called expert advice and planning. The minister responsible for urban development and roads has gone on record saying that CVA has failed. Thumbs up to the experts!
The real stakeholders are not traffic gurus and their computer-animated designs but residents themselves who are at the losing end and whose cries are always ignored. Valletta deserves much better!