Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/712521
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 AUGUST 2016 6 News Kappara project diversion leaves San Gwann residents fuming MATTHEW VELLA SAN Gwann residents who for the past 43 days have had to contend with the diverted traffic routes on Vjal ir-Rihan have come forward complaining of the deleterious ef- fect the intensified traffic is having on their lives. The major cause of consterna- tion is the way traffic that previ- ously flowed directly into Naxxar Road and into the San Gwann town centre, is now diverted into Triq Salvu Busuttil to emerge in- to Triq R. Caruana Dingli before forking off into the direction of Swieqi and the town centre. Residents who asked MaltaTo- day, whose newspaper offices are located on Vjal ir-Rihan, to vocal- ise their concerns say that motor- ists have been "nothing but incon- siderate". "As they turn off Naxxar Road, which is a main road, into Triq Salvu Busuttil, which is a second- ary road, motorists veer off at a speed that far exceeds 30mph in what was once a quiet residential area," one woman, who also works in the area, told this newspaper on condition of anonymity. "This has now become an every- day experience. Walking out of our homes early in the morning means being greeted by careless drivers who speed through the road. De- livery van drivers and truck drivers are even worse culprits. They go about their business without a care in the world when they speed over the speed bumps that have been installed." Another of the residents said the confusion is made worse at the Caruana Dingli 'intersection' that Transport Malta created at the end of Triq Salvu Busuttil. Since access into Naxxar Road's lower part was blocked at the roundabout that exits on Bellav- ista Road, motorists who want to proceed into San Gwann's town centre have to either drive into Triq Salvu Busuttil or exit on Bel- lavista Road. Those who drive through Triq Salvu Busuttil emerge on Triq R. Caruana Dingli, and then have to cross over the road lane to drive into San Gwann. "At the speed that cars pass through here, we have seen care- less motorists cross over the lane while cars drive up from Triq R. Caruana Dingli into San Gwann. Or worse, when they are driving up from Triq R. Caruana Dingli and criss-crossing the traffic lane to drive up towards Naxxar. It is simply incomprehensible." Apart from the well-founded fears of these families, who fear the effects of the worsening traffic on residents and children, some com- plained that local businesses were better served than residents. One resident who lives on an av- enue off Triq Salvu Busuttil com- plained of local businesses being served with special parking bays for their customers and business suppliers, thanks to the blocked access on Naxxar Road. "Essen- tially they turned the road's south- bound lane into a parking area. It may suit businesses fine, but it has left us with a bitter taste on this kind of planning." The traffic diversion is meant to brace San Gwann for the influx of cars that are set to pass through it during the works on the Kappara Junction project. This part of San Gwann already has a parking prob- lem and businesses MaltaToday had spoken to at the start of the diversions had complained about the initial bottlenecks and lack of consultation. Even Nationalist MP Kristy Debono has lashed out at the gov- ernment for failing to consult or inform San Gwann residents and businesses. "The government ar- rogantly bulldozed over everyone as though they didn't even exist," she said in Parliament last month. "It likes telling us about how pro- business it is, so how could it have not realized the enormous impact that the diversion would have on San Gwann businesses?" But San Gwann mayor Etienne Bonello Dupuis has said that it was his local council which pushed for the current diversion, after hear- ing of Transport Malta's original plans to establish a T-junction in front of Triq Salvu Busuttil, re- moving a traffic island with three trees in the process. "I have no problem bashing Transport Malta when they de- serve to be bashed, but they don't deserve it in this case," he had told MaltaToday in June when first asked about the diversions. His opinion was that vehicles can exit more freely from Triq Caruana Dingli and that the diver- sion should become permanent if it proves effective in countering traffic flows. Transport Malta said that the diversion would ease traffic flows in the usually congested area. "The benefits will be a better traffic flow at the node between Triq Caruana Dingli and Vjal ir-Rihan and the elimination of long traffic queues on Triq Caruana Dingli which would otherwise have to wait to find gaps to exit onto Vjal ir-Rihan. "Viewed holistically and once fully operational, spreading across the neighbouring localities of Gzira, Msida, Swieqi, Sliema, Gharghur, Naxxar, San Gwann and parts of Birkirkara, the entire traffic management scheme is ex- pected to ease traffic flows gener- ally associated with infrastructural projects of this size and magni- tude." 'Essentially they turned the road's south-bound lane into a parking area. It may suit businesses fine, but it has left us with a bitter taste on this kind of planning.' Why San Gwann residents are complaining about the Kappara project diversions Residents of Triq Salvu Busuttil say their 30pmh road is now just another motorway as cars veer into this residential side-street at full speed An accident waiting to happen? Cars criss- cross lanes to go to San Gwann or Naxxar Businesses served: more parking for clients - some even got reserved bays The southbound lane has now been changed into a parking area To San Gwann Bellavista Road Triq S. Busuttil Triq Caruana Dingli Naxxar Road