TM defends state of new roads in Gozo

Transport Malta has replied to readers’ complaints about the state of new roads in Gozo, featured online last Tuesday. One reader complained that eight bus stops were painted in the middle of the new road which links Xewkija to Victoria and, as a result, buses block traffic as commuters board. Another reader complained about rainwater flooding at Fortunato Mizzi Street, Victoria. TM said that the bus stops in Xewkija were known in the trade as “bus boarders”. The footpath was specifically built to allow buses to easily approach the kerb. A bus boarder was typically used in heavily trafficked built-up areas where bus drivers regularly experienced difficulty to approaching the kerb because of parking and loading. Bus boarders, TM said, were often the subject of complaints by motorists but it was the duty of road designers to take into account the needs of bus passengers who needed to board buses safely from pavements rather than from the middle of a busy road. As for the rainwater flooding at Fortunato Mizzi Street, TM said that the November 15 storm was far from typical. The photograph accompanying the article, TM said, showed a large amount of water flowing downhill. In spite of...