Some time ago, I was asked by a very senior man once with the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) to highlight that within the Network Infrastructure Department, there was a team of young bloods led by an architect whose raison d'etre was to cope with potholes appearing on arterial and distributor roads. These roads are the direct responsibility of the ADT; they are not that many, not running into even half of the roads on these islands.
After days of rain, I read a heading announcing that a Maintenance Unit would be handling the expensive issue of potholes that had appeared - not over the many months preceding the heavy rain, but as a result of this rain.
The state of the Mosta/Birkirkara road is disastrous, rain or no rain. The same can be said for the Naxxar/San Gwann mess. The number one road, the coast road, is falling apart between Għallis Tower and the traffic lights at the end of Pioneer Road. The Mosta/ Burmurrad road was never completed at the top of Tarġa hill and is now disastrous, and the two lanes of the Birkirkara bypass, limits of L-Iklin, are in trouble too. Rain or not, these roads have been falling apart for some time.
Some holes have appeared in badly surfaced trenches. There is no excuse for this either, because many moons ago a trenching unit within the Traffic Management Unit was to ensure that trenches were filled in and surfaced properly
It always amazes me that the ADT can function with efficiency and finesse for a few months, and then bits of the edifice seem to begin to crumble, rather like our road surfaces, into a terminal state of decay.
In the case of trenches, the person in charge has reached the magic retiring age and I presume popped off to enjoy blissful years of moonscape motoring. In the same way, some of the elderly 'field officers' within the Network Infrastructure Department have to my knowledge retired, leaving the multitudinous problems to the bright, young, fresh faces that the motoring public depends on to sort out, and make good, on a daily basis, so that all is well on the distributor and arterial road network.
Council roads, the majority as it stands at present, must surely be maintained by the council involved, despite funds being scarce. Councils like Rabat, Dingli, Siggiewi, Mġarr, St Paul's Bay, Naxxar and Mellieha, among others, have too many tertiary roads to maintain in any sort of condition, let alone damage-free, for the many vehicles that attempt to use them. Besides, many minor roads are the objects of desire for a multitude of visitors who desperately want to get off our faceless 'highways' to explore the real Malta and Gozo.
Test examiners once more
9 p.m. Sunday, after the publication of the last Car Torque, the senior consultant at the ADT and, in a different life, my one-time chairman, who has responsibility for test procedures among a galaxy of other vital jobs, phoned me and harshly told me I was making a fool of myself highlighting a department that casts its spell over every driving pupil taking their driving test.
I make no apologies. According to other people, my statements ring true. Since my last effort, another examiner (now five in total, including yours truly) has resigned. Human Resources still ignores this dire situation. Obviously, it costs time and money to train driving examiners, and to lose two locally-trained examiners and two out of three UK-trained driving instructors who worked over here as driving examiners cannot simply be brushed off.
One examiner, before resigning, applied through the internal promotion system to be CEO of the ADT. He had nothing to lose, and had a good MBA; this application sincerely irritated the ADT.
This experienced consultant regularly attends meetings abroad, like any good staff officer. However, his current 'hands on' experiences are possibly not quite as sound as the team of driving examiners who test eight people a day, five days a week and somehow live to tell the tale.
After days of rain, I read a heading announcing that a Maintenance Unit would be handling the expensive issue of potholes that had appeared - not over the many months preceding the heavy rain, but as a result of this rain.
The state of the Mosta/Birkirkara road is disastrous, rain or no rain. The same can be said for the Naxxar/San Gwann mess. The number one road, the coast road, is falling apart between Għallis Tower and the traffic lights at the end of Pioneer Road. The Mosta/ Burmurrad road was never completed at the top of Tarġa hill and is now disastrous, and the two lanes of the Birkirkara bypass, limits of L-Iklin, are in trouble too. Rain or not, these roads have been falling apart for some time.
Some holes have appeared in badly surfaced trenches. There is no excuse for this either, because many moons ago a trenching unit within the Traffic Management Unit was to ensure that trenches were filled in and surfaced properly
It always amazes me that the ADT can function with efficiency and finesse for a few months, and then bits of the edifice seem to begin to crumble, rather like our road surfaces, into a terminal state of decay.
In the case of trenches, the person in charge has reached the magic retiring age and I presume popped off to enjoy blissful years of moonscape motoring. In the same way, some of the elderly 'field officers' within the Network Infrastructure Department have to my knowledge retired, leaving the multitudinous problems to the bright, young, fresh faces that the motoring public depends on to sort out, and make good, on a daily basis, so that all is well on the distributor and arterial road network.
Council roads, the majority as it stands at present, must surely be maintained by the council involved, despite funds being scarce. Councils like Rabat, Dingli, Siggiewi, Mġarr, St Paul's Bay, Naxxar and Mellieha, among others, have too many tertiary roads to maintain in any sort of condition, let alone damage-free, for the many vehicles that attempt to use them. Besides, many minor roads are the objects of desire for a multitude of visitors who desperately want to get off our faceless 'highways' to explore the real Malta and Gozo.
Test examiners once more
9 p.m. Sunday, after the publication of the last Car Torque, the senior consultant at the ADT and, in a different life, my one-time chairman, who has responsibility for test procedures among a galaxy of other vital jobs, phoned me and harshly told me I was making a fool of myself highlighting a department that casts its spell over every driving pupil taking their driving test.
I make no apologies. According to other people, my statements ring true. Since my last effort, another examiner (now five in total, including yours truly) has resigned. Human Resources still ignores this dire situation. Obviously, it costs time and money to train driving examiners, and to lose two locally-trained examiners and two out of three UK-trained driving instructors who worked over here as driving examiners cannot simply be brushed off.
One examiner, before resigning, applied through the internal promotion system to be CEO of the ADT. He had nothing to lose, and had a good MBA; this application sincerely irritated the ADT.
This experienced consultant regularly attends meetings abroad, like any good staff officer. However, his current 'hands on' experiences are possibly not quite as sound as the team of driving examiners who test eight people a day, five days a week and somehow live to tell the tale.