Paola square's 'pedestrian dream' lost to asphalt, says original architect

The dream of creating a pedestrian-prioritised city square in the south has been "crushed," according to the architect responsible for the Paola Square revamp.

Architect Christopher Mintoff expressed his disappointment on Facebook Tuesday morning, criticising the authorities for resurfacing the square's road with asphalt and replacing the original cobblestone paving laid just over five years ago.

"The cobblestones have been replaced with the same material found in every bypass and main road," Mintoff stated, highlighting the loss of the square's unique character.

In recent months, the road had deteriorated significantly, becoming a source of complaints from motorists for years.

Earlier in February, Infrastructure Malta reported that the road between Luqa Road and Antoine De Paule Square had suffered "considerable damage." Last week, Transport Minister Chris Bonett informed the parliament that repair works were nearing completion.

The square underwent a €3 million revamp five years ago, which sparked controversy when large mature ficus trees were removed and replaced with saplings. Mintoff defended this decision at the time, explaining that the ficus trees were harming underground utilities.

Defending the original design, Mintoff stated that the cobbled street was well-engineered and met all project specifications. "However well you design or build it, you cannot protect it from its users. Heavy traffic was meant to be banned from the square to reduce noise, pollutants, etc. Yet, before the materials could fully cure, the square was used as a diversion for heavy industrial traffic during the Marsa project," he explained.

Mintoff pointed out that the authorities were aware of these issues, emphasizing that, unlike the newly resurfaced asphalt road, the cobbled street was intended to promote slower traffic, smaller vehicles, and increased pedestrian activity in the square.