On the Dot

• Coming out of Pantar Road, Lija, cars are in grave danger of being involved in accidents from oncoming traffic. Surely, a convex mirror across the road from the end of the street would help warn drivers of approaching vehicles.

Messy

• A good number of the ground tiles in Bay Square, Bugibba, have become dislodged. Each time it rains, the damage gets worse, especially in the strip near the drains just across the steps leading to the beach. Considering all the fuss that was made about the area’s refurbishement, this is indeed a shame.

Mimic

• The same problem obtains with a tiny section of the paving in Saint John Square, in Valletta. However, it would apprear that since this piazza is in a central location, it will be fixed soon. Is there anything wrong with the materials used for grouting between the stone blocks, which is causing them to dislodge through vibrations and/or moisture?

Meander

• On Thursday, December 1, workers were panting “60” speed limits in the road in front of the Mosta Technopark. They did not deem it fit to place “men at work” signs, so motorists came up to the cones suddenly and had to swerve to avoid them. This meant that drivers of the cars following them, who could not see what the matter was, had to take evasive action. There were several near misses.

Materials

• The first time a particular local council did not hand out the free roll of garbage recycling bags to residents, they were told that the company involved had not delivered them on time. The following month, the bags were not delivered, either. This leads one to suspect that the first time the reason was only an excuse for, otherwise, the bags would have been delivered as soon as they were received.

Marketing

• The more Christmas approaches, the more certain establishments turn to ludicrous ways to drum up business. It is not fair that many of the advertisments for expensive toys are being marketed to children in a language that encourages them to pester their parents to spend money they may ill afford. Business is business, it is true, but some underhand tactics beggar belief.

Mishmash

• The President’s Fun Run is a laudable way to raise money for charitable causes. However, someone really must take it in hand to teach policemen some manners. All that most of them did was wave cars away from roads that were closed to traffic, even when drivers appeared confused and wanted to ask for directions to alternate routes. As a result, many cars were seen driving the wrong way in one-way streets, after having gone around in circles for several minutes. And why did City Gate remain closed for so long?

Minorities

• During Christmastide, many parishes, NGOs and other entitities hold fund-raising bazaars where lovely things may be had for a pittance. Unfortunately, petty rivalry means that even in areas where there will be no such activity, posters advertising them in the next village down or the next town up are not accepted by shop owners, whereas those being held further out are. This is ridiculous.

Minimum

• What happens when a car is damaged because of the dire state of the street rather then due to a mechanical fault? Has the driver the right to sue the local council or the central government for what the towage company and the garage that fixes the damage charge? It is high time that the buck stops being passed. The fact that the tender for the resurfacing of the road would not yet have been processed ought not to be tenable.

• Mire

Whenever it rains, the left-hand side of Fleur de Lys Road, going to Birkirkara, is always a disaster area, from the playing field to a little beyond the Carmelite Friars church. The road surface is set at a gradient that allows at least two feet of water to gather from the edge of the pavement to the street, such that anyone attempting to cross will be affected.

Mixture

• Despite the introduction of route bus 123, to which commuters appear to have taken an aversion, there is still much of a problem with the bus stops that used to be on the old number 71 route, at least from the old Birkirakara terminus all the way down to Ħamrun. On November 6, at least 30 people were waiting at the stop near St Joseph Home at 9.15 a.m. The number of commuters at gate 9 at the Valletta terminus, moreover, speaks for itself.

• Another bus route that needs to be reintroduced is the one that used to be numbered 63. It is a well-known fact that a good number of the residents of central Sliema and Ta’ Xbiex are elderly. It is unfair to make them take route buses that necessiate their walking long ways, occasionally uphill. Sometimes, even car owners do not like to use their vehicles, for fear of losing a parking space, if their errand is to a destination that is known to have parking problems.

Measures

• Why is it that some zebra crossings get more attention than others? Some of the ones that are in areas of heavy traffic are so faded that motorists assume they are no longer in use. As a result, people waiting to cross are ignored and when they attempt to do so, angry drivers hoot their horns at them, accusing them of jaywalking.

Masterminds

• The ingenuity of certain people appears to have no limits. Hacked e-mail accounts are now being used to send mails ostensibly from people in the owner’s address book. These mails state that the sender was at a party, got drunk and got a lift from someone who shot several red lights and was then involved in an accident.