AD makes proposals for a ‘people-friendly’ Valletta

Alternattiva Demokratika has presented a number of recommendations to make Malta's capital city more "people-friendly", taking part in the government-launched public consultation on a new masterplan for Valletta.

One such recommendation was the aesthetic appeal of the buildings surrounding the city.

“Due to its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the buildings surrounding Velletta can be detrimental to its appearance,” the Green Party said in a statement. “An example of such unexpected developments which have already damaged the city are, for example, the military hanger building that was built in front of the San Maison bastion and the Fort Cambridge and Midi buildings in Tigne.”

AD said that this was reason enough to ensure that further developments need to be considered well.

“This is why it is important to evaluate thoroughly ever additional development proposed for Fort Cambridge, Monoel Island and Marsa, as well as the visual and aesthetic impact these have on the Valletta’s peninsula, including the Grand Harbour.”

AD also lamented the amount allocated to Valletta’s budget.

“Valletta should have a particular budget in order to be able to promote it as the country’s capital,” the green party said, adding that Valletta local council should receive much more for the daily maintenance of the city.

“A budget that does not even cover the cost of waste collection needs to be drastically revised.”

Another proposal brought forward by AD was the extension of sea transport.

“The present sea transport to Birgu and Sliema should be extended  to other areas such as Marsa, where one can find bus connections to the south of Malta.”

AD then turned to the population in Valletta and mad a proposals in their regard.

“Compared to the rest of Malta, the population in Valletta is relatively older. Several private properties are possibly substandard and lack commodities which are considered essential today, such as lifts,” AD said.

The party explained that 35% of the property in Valletta is uninhabited, which is 14% higher then in other urban conservation areas in Malta.

“In order to encourage more youths to take up residence in Valletta, incentives must be given for the renovation of existing buildings so that they are furnished with essential commodities for decent living,” it said.

“While infrastructure and cultural activities in Valletta should increase, there should also be capping and limitations on noisy activities that attract external tourism towards Valletta’s centre in the evenings,” it added.

The AD’s reasoning for this, as shown in their statement, is that these activities deter permanent residents as the noise does not allow them to rest.

Because of the ageing population, AD also suggested an increase in the number of small electric taxis that operate within Valletta.

“These are to improve the mobility of senior citizens and other people with reduced mobility. The prices of these taxis should be maintained low in order to be accessible to more people,” the party said.

It added that a high percentage of the residents in Valletta live on contributions from the social security system. “Because of this, it should be a priority to organise more training courses for adults in this area,” AD said.

AD also commented on the city’s specific requirements when it comes to public transport.

“More than 8,000 people go to Valletta each day because of work in the private sector. Additionally, there are other thousands who do the same for the government sector. Thus, AD suggests that public transport should be adequate for this demand in the morning and again in the afternoon when workers normally finish from work,” the party said. “This would help solve the issue of traffic while reducing the problem of parking for workers.”

According to its statement, AD also suggested the introduction of tax exemptions for those who rehabilitate buildings for residential purposes in Valletta. It added that, on the other hand, there should be capping on rehabilitated buildings for boutique hotels and other commercial purposes. “The more hotels there are, the less likely Valletta is to attract permanent residents.”

AD went on to make suggestions about the local market.

“The market would be a bigger attraction if it specialises in typical products rather than continuing to sell everyday and mediocre products that can be found everywhere.”

AD pointed out that one of the aims of the plan is “to guide the greening of underutilised areas such as ditches, greening of roofs". “The ditch being used as a parking area is not aligned to this aim. The ditch should be a ‘green’ open public area,” it said, adding that increasing parking spaces in Valletta brings more traffic to the city and that the focus should be on public transport.

AD called for a strategy which considers accessibility and mobility for disabled people and for an emphasis to be put on pedestrians.

“With attention and planning, Valletta can be a model for a ‘people-friendly’ city,” AD concluded.