Concern at the high levels of pollution in Sliema has been expressed by the Sliema Residents Association (SRA).

The association referred to a recent reply of EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas to a European Parliamentary question raised by the European Greens and said it regretted to note that Malta’s limit values continued to be exceeded in the Sliema and Gzira areas.

It expressed its disappointment that the Maltese authorities were trailing behind in their European Union commitments regarding environmental matters and that they intended to request an extension in meeting the EU limits on air pollution matters until June 2011.

The Maltese authorities, it said, similarly failed to draw up and present the EU Environment Commissioner with the necessary ‘noise map’ to monitor and address noise pollution problems.

The SRA reiterated that the air and noise pollution in Sliema were very much the consequence of the town’s unsustainable development, which progressively generated more unsustainable vehicular traffic.

Ironically, Sliema’s overdevelopment was being authorised by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, which was also responsible to monitor and safeguard the air quality, it said.

It noted that the fact that such a question was raised by a member of the European Greens, left one questioning the environmental credentials of the locally elected members of the European Parliament.

The SRA lauded the initiative taken by the Malta Transport Authority to setup a department later this year to promote cycling and walking, two healthy activities which would alleviate the pollution problem.

The SRA said it would like to see more such initiatives in Sliema and around.

“We hope that positive results will be achieved shortly,” it said.