Pedestrians in Tigné Street, Sliema, had almost given up alerting the authorities about a pole erected in the middle of a pavement, which forces them to walk in the road.

They have written to the authorities countless times, with little or no response, but finally the new Sliema council has taken the matter on board and is lobbying for its removal.

According to the council, the wooden pole– located close to The Point Shopping Complex, in the road leading to the top of Bisazza Street – belongs to telecommunications company Go.

And it still bears aMaltacom sign.

One Sliema resident, Graham Sansone, spoke of his exasperation as hewheeled a pushchair carrying his two-year-old daughter.

“I had to walk back quite a distance to get to the road because cars were parked so close together that I couldn’t get off the pavement with the pushchair.

“The pavement looks newly laid. I can’t believe they worked around this pole, rather than simply removing it,” he said.

The pole became a topic of discussion on Facebook last week with Sliema deputy mayor Silvio Zammit telling residentshe had passed on the matter to the councilfor action.

After visiting the site, councillor John Pillow insisted the pole needed to be removed without further delay.

Mr Sansone also pointed out this is not the only obstacle on the pavement. Just a few metres up the road, a brick wall closes off the pavement completely because of a construction project, giving pedestrians no option but to walk through the road.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com