Mellieha residents petition for rumble strip removal

A petition asking for the removal of rumble strips from a road in Mellieha yesterday had more than 500 signatures in less than 24 hours.

The online petition states that these strips might soon cause a traffic accident, and called for the 'immediate removal' of the strips from Mellieha’s Main Street.

According to comments posted underneath the petition, the decision to have the strips installed was not discussed by the Mellieha local councillors. In fact, it appears that the decision was taken unilaterally by Mellieha mayor John Buttigieg.

So far the Local Council has not reacted to the petition.

Nationalist MP Robert Cutajar is supporting the cause. In comment to this newspaper yesterday, Mr Cutajar said he will be presenting the petition in the coming days. “I hope that the local council and Ministry take the necessary action and remove these strips, as they should have never been installed in the first place.”

The Ministry for Transport installed the rumble strips because the road had seen a considerable number of accidents, but according to those lobbying for their removal, this is not the case.

In fact, the petition states that the Ministry’s reasoning is unacceptable on three counts: it is false that the spot where the rumble strips have been placed has seen numerous accidents; that if they have been in- stalled to reduce speed they should have been located well before the bend; the petition also states that if these strips are being installed to reduce speed, then they should be installed on all roads.

“We are voicing our concerns to the Minister of Transport Joe Mizzi, and the mayor and councillors of the Mellieħa Local Council. We re- quest that these ‘rumble strips’ be immediately removed to eliminate the new danger they are causing to drivers that use this busy road, particularly the residents of Mellieħa.”

Rumble strips placed on bends such as that on Mellieha’s Main Street cause cars to fishtail and skid dangerously, especially when the road is wet.