Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino has responded to criticism by constituency rival, Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo about the paving of Bisazza Street while the Sliema deputy mayor defended the project.

In an opinion article in The Times yesterday entitled A Bulldozer Through Bisazza Street, Mr Arrigo gave an unsavoury review of the project, saying it should have been done with more coordination and “less bullying”.

Responding through an article today, ( http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110707/opinion/Quality-project-through-consensus.374266 ) Mr Pullicino says he is “surprised” by Mr Arrigo’s comments because he did not express “such negative views” beforehand: during the inauguration and the open day, both of which he attended.

He points out that only one member of the Sliema council voted against the full pedestrianisation of Bisazza Street during a meeting where he was not present.

“I cannot understand how I could have bullied councillors to arrive at their decision,” he adds.

Mr Arrigo questioned whether a traffic impact assessment had been carried out, to which Mr Pullicino says it was. But this assessment, by Transport Malta, recommended that buses pass through the road, something the government eventually decided against to fulfil its duties of improving conditions for pedestrians.

Responding to Mr Arrigo’s claims that residents were negatively affected by the removal of parking spaces, Mr Pullicino says he was the one fighting to keep parking spaces. He adds that those protesting against the loss of parking spaces are the same who opposed an underground car park in Qui-Si-Sana, which would have served 600 cars. “The proposed car park would have solved many of the parking problems being faced today by Sliema residents,” he says.

Meanwhile, Sliema deputy mayor Cyrus Engerer said the council was “not at all” bullied and always welcomed investment in the locality by the government.

He added that the vast majority of residents and business owners approved the idea, as did the council, almost unanimously.

There could have been more consultation about the issue of buses passing through Bisazza Street and the instant removal of 62 parking spaces to change the route of buses was marked by “a bit of bulldozer style of doing things”. “But we negotiated and we got 40 spaces back,” Mr Engerer said.

Contradicting former mayor Mr Arrigo, Mr Engerer said the feedback about the project which he received from residents was “very positive” and some residents had actually been prepared to protest to keep the full pedestrianisation.