Car-free day turned into ‘glorified Sliema street party’

Updated 9.50am with Transport Malta replies A car-free day is being held today along the Strand in Sliema to mark the end of European Mobility Week and encourage people to travel using more environmentally-friendly alternatives. But the event has been used by Transport Malta to turn the Sliema road into a “glorified street party”, leaving residents stuck inside their homes, Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop fears. In a Facebook event, Transport Malta and the European Mobility Actions Malta encouraged people to “get stranded”, in an event called “The Strand Alive”. Transport Malta planned to have the Strand closed to traffic from this morning until tomorrow at 1am. It also proposed the setting up of a music stage. Catering establishments would also be encouraged to set up tables and chairs onto the traffic-free street, the Sliema council said in a statement. “There will be a takeover of noise, which residents at Sliema already have a problem with,” Mr Chircop said, adding that rather than an environmental awareness activity, the event will simply be a street party. “The event seems to appease and create more business opportunities for the number of catering establishments that...