All is not well in Victoria, Gozo
It’s really disappointing and annoying that in Victoria, the main small capital in Gozo, accessibility is in such a terrible and hazardous state.
The authorities and organizations concerned aren’t addressing such catastrophic conditions. First, there is Capuchins Street. This is the main arterial road leading to Marsalforn and, and especially during summer, all kinds of drivers are literally racing and overtaking up and down this residential street.
To complicate things further, the pedestrian pavement is far from practical, consisting of garage ramps, including steps, rendering it a marathon for a pedestrian to try and tackle all these inconveniences.
No residential speed limits are enforced, and nothing has, as yet, been done to slow down the traffic - such as by installing speed humps, speed cameras or even warning signs. Pedestrians are really risking their lives walking through this road. An accident is waiting to happen and then it is would be too late.
Next, I refer to a legacy of the ex-Minister for Gozo Anton Refalo, the re-surfacing of part of Republic Street from It-Tokk Square to Sabina Square. The people who tripped over the irregular surface of this road and suffered bruises, at times serious, should be of concern primarily to the local council.
As an example of how badly laid out this street is, during the horse race for the St George and St Mary feasts, this part was covered with a thickfelt layer. That is really worth noting – horses are treated better than pedestrians.
The Bastion Road leading to Żebbug and the northern part of Victoria leaves nothing to the imagination, really worthy for testing ‘ off road’ vehicles for reliability, subjecting vehicles shock absorbers to the highest stress in all dimensions permissible.
Now the latest masterpiece to be added to these already hazardous situations is the recently renovated St Francis square. I stand to be corrected, but it seems that this project was triggered by the present administration to get rid of the Fountain, which was commissioned during PN Gozo Minister Anton Tabone. The present Gozo Ministry preferred to replace it with another state-ofthe-art project, obviously with EU funding.
A bright idea indeed! This gem of a square has been reduced to a pedestrian trap, to the extent that it is peppered with reflective studs on the ground, normally found on motorways separating the traffic lanes. These reflect the oncoming vehicle lights and alerts drivers that they should not cross that point.
Pedestrians, however, are tripping over them in ever increasing numbers, becoming bruised. This, thanks to the designer and architect of this cutting-edge project, and whoever approved EU funding for it, should bear responsibility for these consequences. It would have been better recommending these reflective studs to be placed separating the traffic lanes all over the island.
Presently, this is all the norm for the local and road authorities. It is unbelievable that no one has drawn the attention of the Ministry for Gozo or even the local council. Unfortunately, we are becoming a passive society, not caring about what is going on around us except when it affects our pocket.
The authorities allowing these conditions prevail and then going on the local media, trumpeting the achievements of the present government for Gozo, is shameful.
Maybe Minister Carmelo Abela, who has peppered all the local papers with the government’s success by claiming that the government has implemented 76% of its manifesto, would be so kind as to indicate whether the remaining 24% pertains to infrastructural improvements in Gozo.
As always, Gozitans are left behind and ignored – the election is not near, so they afford to disregard Gozo.
Responsibility for this shameful situation falls squarely on the Victoria local council and Gozo Ministry, while the Gozo Business Chamber and the Gozo Tourism Association are accomplices. What happened to them? Why are they dormant? They are relegated to mere rubber stamps, scared to criticise what’s wrong and suggest how to rectify it. Why do they not try to speak up in the interest of those who they represent and those who elected them?
The Gozitan MPs, obviously the Labour ones, are not interested in roads and what happens to the pedestrians. They are admiring and relishing the glory bestowed upon them by the Gozitans who expected better living conditions.
The PN members, especially Chris Said and Kevin Cutajar, are mainly concerned with undermining their leader, not caring with what’s happening in Gozo. They have not registered their concerns regarding such issues which, for them, are secondary to their main egoistic ambitions.
This situation regarding how Gozitans are treated keeps repeating itself. This unacceptable state of affairs has to be addressed by the government, who should assume full responsibility for these shortcomings. A Gozo committee has been constituted and these issues have never been given due consideration. This confirms even further that this committee is merely a waste of time and resources.
Soon we will start hearing excuses and maybe apologies, but these will never put right the hardships and injuries being suffered by so many pedestrians as a result of this government’s incompetence.