Sliema Residents Association concern at abrupt closure of Bisazza street

Traffic has now been rerouted through the heart of Qui-si-sana and down the narrow and steep hill of St Anthony Street.

“Such re-routing will precipitate the traffic chaos that presently exists in the residential area due to other works, and will cause misery and hardship for the residents of Qui-si-sana and Tigné, as thousands of cars, trucks and buses will be pouring daily past their front doors.  This will also increase the already elevated pollution levels in these narrow, high flanked roads to the detriment of the residents’ health and quality of life,” the SRA said in a statememt.

“Needless to say, the residents of Central Sliema will also suffer as traffic will try to avoid the jams by passing through Amery Street, High Street, Manwel Dimech and Old College Streets, paralysing these parts of Sliema.”

The SRA said the Prime Minister had repeatedly promised residents of the area proper consultation and a say in the issue of pedestrianisation of Bisazza Street. “Not only has that not happened or taken place, but it seems that the decision has already been taken by the Ministry. While select groups that will enjoy a long term gain have been consulted, Sliema residents have been deliberately excluded from the process. It is a fact that the Sliema Local Council has been involved in the process for months, despite the Council’s protestations of innocence and ignorance.”

The Sliema Residents’ Association and the Qui-si-sana and Tigne Residents’ Association said this project should have taken place after the completion of the Qui-si-sana and Tigné perimeter roads, linked together by the MIDI tunnel, which has been ready but not opened for more than three years now.

The Associations questioned why the paving of two hundred yards of street should take precedence “over the social and corporate responsibility of the central administration, consequently jeopardizing the health and quality of life of residents and the inconvenience to traffic.”