A number of residents in Attard have spoken out as they find themselves in the center of a major development.
Though they understand inconveniences are bound to happen as the major Central Link Project which is set to link Mosta to Mrieħel, is underway, a number of issues have led to homeowners speaking out.
They spoke of suddenly being unable to access tap water for periods of time to be unable to park anywhere near their homes.
“At first, I was in favor of this project as traffic congestion has always been a problem here on Triq L-Imdina, Attard,” one resident, who is a parent of two children, told Lovin Malta.
“However, with the recent developments, we will find ourselves living on a bypass,” they continued. “Triq L-Imdina will now become four-lane (three lanes plus a bus lane) with no parking available on either side of the road. I am not an expert but I am not sure how this is possible, to build a four-lane bypass, passing through a residential area?”
The parent also expressed concerns about the removal of a set of crossing lights in the road, as well as saying that once the entire project is done, residents will be faced with incoming traffic as soon as they open their doors and exit their homes.
The Central Link Project, first announced in 2018, was meant to be finished within two years.
The project saw an investment of at least €55 million in the infrastructure of the area, including upgrading four kilometres worth of road in hopes to reduce travel times between Mosta and Mrieħel by 50%. It was only started in January 2020, two years after it was announced.
Another resident said at least 10 families were currently being affected, and that over the last week representatives from Infrastructure Malta had been in contact to communicate with residents over issues related to parking.
“We are not complaining about this issue, since we know that many people are already benefiting from such project every morning when they travel to and from work. However, this project has turned out to be a complete inconvenience for us,” another resident told Lovin Malta.
“The parking in front of our houses will be removed to make way for a merge lane to be introduced to allow the traffic to flow and merge with the traffic coming down from Rabat. Consequently, alighting is not possible. With such design, we are concerned that our safety will be put at risk,” she said.
“As you can imagine, illegal stopping by vehicles will occur frequently. Accidents were already prominent in our road – imagine now.”
“And to finish on a funny note,” they ended, “we have not been given one lousy tree from all the trees promised along the central link. It seems that the handful of residents leaving in Triq L-Imdina were totally and utterly forgotten.”
What do you make of these residents’ plight?
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