Tables and chairs packing Paceville’s pavements

Paceville residents and people who work in the area have complained to this newsroom about the excessive incursion on pavements by restaurants, bars and cafes through the use of tables and chairs.

The issue of tables and chairs taking up pavement space has long been a contentious topic.

One prevailing argument is that pedestrians should have access to at least a passageway where they can safely walk on the pavement.

This, however, does not seem to be the case in parts St Julian’s anymore. Images of the situation in Paceville leave much to be desired, with near to no room for people to walk on the pavement, let alone persons using wheelchairs, or parents with a baby in a pram.

This newsroom sent questions to the Planning Authority to check whether the establishments have permits, and, if not, to ask what action will be taken. No response, however, was received by the time of going to print.

Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disability Oliver Scicluna, speaking to this newsroom about the general situation of tables and chairs on pavements blocking pedestrian passage, said that some follow the policy regarding tables and chairs and others don’t.

He stressed that whenever he receives a complaint, he contacts the relevant authorities: “In my opinion, pavements belong to the people, and there is no other argument.”

He said that space must be left for people to walk through when tables and chairs are placed on pavements, and also stressed that persons with mobility impairments should not be made to move onto the street.

The commission, he said, is working on a policy called ‘streets for all’ which will include a consultation period. This policy, he said, deals with issues involving pavements such as ramps leading onto pavements, the size of pavements and the like.

The issue of tables and chairs taking up space has been an issue highlighted by environmentalists and sociologists in the past.

Michael Briguglio, a sociologist and a local councillor, recently highlighted the problem in his video blog on The Malta Independent’s web portal. He had said that pavements are being occupied by tables and chairs, as well as through construction, stating that many a time elderly persons and persons with mobility impairments are being forced to walk on the road. He mentioned accidents involving persons being hit by cars on the road.

FAA coordinator Claire Bonello previously spoke with this newsroom in April, and said that café areas abroad are located in pedestrian areas, or on wide pavements. “In Sliema President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca addressed a high-level conference on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly entitled ‘Funding the Future: Challenges and Responses to the Reintegration of Child Soldiers’, organised by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba.

Quoting data from UNICEF, President Coleiro Preca said that the fact that there are 30 million children isolated and stranded from necessary support is unacceptable, adding that such a statement should be more than enough to galvanise the international community into immediate and effective action.

The President said that children on the move are extremely vulnerable and need adapted, contextspecific protection, in countries of origin, transit, and of destination, and stated that while in transit, and especially in camps, children should have access to services, such as education, healthcare, and psycho-social assistance, to help them reclaim their childhood.

“It is important not to avoid leaving children without access to education for extended periods of time, as this will make it more difficult to reintegrate them in their original or new community,” President Coleiro Preca stated while affirming that states and the international community have an obligation to protect and reintegrate these children by providing the necessary services.

“I believe that the successful protection and reintegration of children must be part of a holistic approach which aims to implement long-lasting peace and the socio-economic regeneration of every society that has experienced, has been, or is being affected by violent conflict,” the President said.

“Nearly one child in four is living in a country and Gżira, they are putting up catering platforms on parking spaces, which contributes to a decrease in parking space, in addition to it creating a dangerous situation. You cannot have diners share the road with traffic... Either limit them to pedestrianised areas or at least ensure that they are in areas where traffic is slow and roads are wide.” She has, in the past, also highlighted the danger of leaving no space for pedestrians on pavements.

Paceville itself has seen controversial situations surrounding tables and chairs in the past. One such example, the once dubbed ‘monstrous’ structure which was built to accommodate tables and chairs outside a catering establishment in Paceville avenue taking up parking spaces.

Mayor Guido Dalli, contacted by this newsroom, said that as a council they wish pavements were there for people to use, but asked that since tables and chairs have been given to so many, what can be done. “Should the government remove them for everyone, or accept the few left as long as they are reasonable applications. It is an issue for discussion.”

He highlighted, however, that structures like the one in Paceville, the so called monstrosity which was being built to accommodate tables and chairs and taking up parking spaces, would set a precedent for others to do the same, and that the situation present on pavements would then follow onto parking spaces. He had expressed strong disagreement with that construction. presently affected by conflict or disaster.”

The President said there is the urgent need to provide solutions as these children represent the present and the future of the countries and regions they have had to flee, and warned that without an adequate response from the international community, the objective of preventing violations against children will never be reached.

“We must all redouble our efforts to ensure effective and adequate protection mechanisms, including reintegration services, for all displaced children. States, and the international community, cannot continue to be complacent and fail to provide for effective child protection and reintegration,” the President said.

In concluding, President Coleiro Preca called on the United Nations’ entities, member states, private sector collaborators, and civil society activists to rise to this challenge to prioritise the protection and the reintegration of children who have experienced and are experiencing armed conflict, and to promote the dignity and wellbeing of each and every child.