Drivers heading into Mosta could soon be able to access the main square directly if a proposal by the council to change the direction of traffic in Eucharistic Congress Road is approved.
The decision to allow traffic to flow out of the square through the main road, taken some 20 years ago, was meant to be temporary but traffic has been exiting Mosta through Eucharistic Congress Road ever since.
Speaking to this newspaper as a public consultation on the issue comes to an end, mayor Edwin Vassallo said the idea to switch traffic direction had been discussed for years but no action was ever taken.
As Mosta increasingly becomes a commercial hub, the mayor said, the council had agreed to once again attempt to make the switch.
“Mosta is changing rapidly. There is an influx of traffic coming into the square and something has to be done to better manage the situation.
“We now have two big supermarkets which means more people are coming to the locality,” Mr Vassallo said.
The council has already discussed the change with Transport Malta, who have backed up the idea, supplying plans, he added. If the change takes place, traffic heading out of the square could go through both ends of Main Street.
“We went to Transport Malta for guidance and they were interested from the very beginning. The change is practically costless as there is no need for any infrastructural works,” Mr Vassallo said.
Something has to be done to better manage the situation
On whether the move would impact existing bus routes, the mayor said that this would not be the case as the buses would still be able to follow the same route but access the area in the opposite direction.
Reactions to the council’s proposals have been mixed, with some agreeing with the move while others reject it completely.
According to Mr Vassallo, the shop owners in the area were the first to welcome the change as they believed it could bring more people to Mosta and boost sales. There were however a number of residents against the proposal.
Some 50 residents who live in Eucharistic Congress Road have already filed a petition, claiming the move would only serve to increase traffic in the area. The residents are also calling for the road to be repaired before any changes are approved, the mayor said.
“There were also complaints from those who own garages in Main Street, who are claiming that they would not be able to make use of their garages if the change occurs,” Mr Vassallo said. A petition by Main Street residents is also being circulated.
On the complaints, Mr Vassallo said that while he would be presenting all the petitions and residents’ views to the Transport Ministry, he was adamant that the move was a good one and would have a positive impact on the entire locality.
A Transport Malta spokesman confirmed that the local council had submitted a proposal to change the traffic direction of Eucharistic Congress Road, which the authority was considering. According to the spokesman, proposal would need to be approved by the Traffic Committee.