Stock picture of a pavement in Valletta. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Frank Salt deserves to be congratulated by everyone on his article of April 20 about the pavements in Malta and Gozo. It is really a national shambles in this area and, surely, more people will be involved in accidents similar to his very serious one.

I have already gone on record with two suggestions in this context.

First, there should be a ban on or restrictions on building permitsif, when applying for Planning Authority permits, contractors accept to do up the pavements of, say, a whole block when engaged in a project of whatever type. This should also apply when engaging in the infamous practice of buying houses to demolish and instead build apartment blocks.

Second, it is imperative to know how much of the mentioned €700 million being spent to redo all the country’s roads over the next seven years will actually ensure that all pavements are safe.