Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1151507
19 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 AUGUST 2019 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Labour and gender equality I am a Canadian sociologist and re- tired University professor who lived in Malta for several years. Your editorial 'The fight for equality is not over yet' is perfectly correct: it took countries with much better gender equality index rates like Sweden, Denmark and France between 10 and 20 years to reach that stage. However, although Malta's record in gender equality since 2013 is positive, the way the male-dominated Labour Party has been eliminating power- ful women like Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Helena Dalli from the party leadership are powerful indications that it doesn't like Malta's recent move to- wards gender equality. This fact reflects on the number of women in the parliament and board of directors of the major corporations and the government. I have given a partial endorsement to the assessment of Malta's record on gender equality in my recent book 'Gender Equality And The Welfare State – The Social Construction of Dual Workers/Dual Carers Family Model in Malta (2013 – 2017)'. Cyrus Vakili-Zad University of Toronto Attard traffic junction Drivers at the junction in Attard where Triq il-Ġonna, Triq Sant'Anton and Triq il-Linja meet are being encouraged to be prepared to stop in the middle of a junc- tion, instead of at the corner next to the Give Way traffic signs earlier on. On Monday, workers engaged by the Attard local council repainted the car- riageway markings. As a result, the ma- jority of the drivers from Triq il-Ġonna hardly reduce their speed to go round the corner to proceed to Triq il-Linja. The carriageway markings at the end of Triq il-Ġonna are more than a car's length beyond the Give Way traffic sign! When these drivers try to go round the small roundabout to go to Triq Sant'Anton in the direction of the Presi- dent's Palace, they come dangerously close to the vehicles coming out of Triq il-Linja. The drivers in Triq Sant'Anton com- ing from the direction of the Attard Po- lice Station, have a mirror to show them the vehicles coming from Triq il-Ġonna. Now these drivers can drive for a whole car's length into the junction past the Give Way traffic sign. The mirror might as well be removed! The drivers at the end of Triq il-Linja can perfectly see the vehicles coming from Triq Sant'Anton and Triq il- Ġonna, when they are at the corner next to the Give Way traffic sign. These driv- ers do not need to go past the Give Way traffic sign as encouraged to do so by the carriageway markings. This extension hinders the flow of traffic of vehicles coming from Triq il-Ġonna who wish to proceed to Triq Sant'Anton. It also partly obstructs the path of the vehicles coming from Triq Sant'Anton who wish to cross to the other side of the same road. If the authorities believe that the car- riageway markings are correct, why don't they move the Give Way traffic signs to the middle of the road where the car- riageway markings are painted? These carriageway markings go against all the diagrams found in the Highway Codes of all civilised countries for roundabouts and small roundabouts. Do our "experts" know more than all the traffic management personnel of the whole world? One of the workers engaged by the At- tard Local Council informed me that he has never looked at the Highway Code! What kind of training and guidance are the workers engaged on carriageway markings receiving? Are the Local Councils, Transport Malta or Infrastructure Malta providing any supervision? Will the Attard council, Transport Malta or Infrastructure Malta assume any responsibility for damages in collisions at this junction? The carriage- way markings look nice on paper, but in reality they are dysfunctional, because they bring cars dangerously close to- gether. The council informed me that it has simply refreshed the markings origi- nally painted by the transport authority. Transport Malta is not infallible. The council should have drawn the attention of TM about the inconsistent carriage- way markings. It has simply repeated the error made by TM and assumed the same responsibility. Instead of encouraging disciplined drivers, the authorities are confusing the drivers by their decisions! Let us hope that nobody gets hurt as a result of these carriageway markings. Alfred A. Farrugia Attard