Kappara project diversion leaves San Gwann residents fuming

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 effect the intensified traffic is having on their lives.

The major cause of consternation is the way traffic that previously flowed directly into Naxxar Road and into the San Gwann town centre, is now diverted into Triq Salvu Busuttil to emerge into Triq R. Caruana Dingli before forking off into the direction of Swieqi and the town centre.

Residents who asked MaltaToday, whose newspaper offices are located on Vjal ir-Rihan, to vocalise their concerns say that motorists have been “nothing but inconsiderate”.

“As they turn off Naxxar Road, which is a main road, into Triq Salvu Busuttil, which is a secondary 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 everyday experience. Walking out of our homes early in the morning means being greeted by careless drivers who speed through the road. Delivery 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 Bellavista Road, motorists who want to proceed into San Gwann’s town centre have to either drive into Triq Salvu Busuttil or exit on Bellavista 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 careless 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 complained that local businesses were better served than residents.

One resident who lives on an avenue off Triq Salvu Busuttil complained of local businesses being served with special parking bays for their customers and business suppliers, thanks to the blocked access on Naxxar Road. “Essentially they turned the road’s southbound 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 problem 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 government for failing to consult or inform San Gwann residents and businesses. “The government arrogantly 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 hearing of Transport Malta’s original plans to establish a T-junction in front of Triq Salvu Busuttil, removing a traffic island with three trees in the process.

“I have no problem bashing Transport Malta when they deserve 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 diversion 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 expected to ease traffic flows generally associated with infrastructural projects of this size and magnitude.”