‘All I Feel Is Sadness’: New PN Candidate Joins Small Protest As Trees Risk Chop Outside Her Home
New PN candidate Rebekah Cilia joined a small demonstration in Attard today against the planned uprooting of two trees in a main road, very close to where she lives.
“All I feel at the moment is sadness as I see [the tree] being cut down branch by branch,” Cilia wrote as she took a video while standing under the tree as its leaves and branches were shredded.
She later told Lovin Malta that the uprooting of the trees in Triq il-Nutar Zarb “makes no sense”.
“It’s a calming lane,” she said. “An excuse is always found for why trees should be cut down. It’s sad.”
PN MPs Toni Bezzina and David Agius also visited the site, with Bezzina saying he urged Infrastructure Malta officials to tweak their plans to save the.
“I think with some minor changes on site of the proposed pavement alignment, these trees could be saved,” he said.
The two trees are being chopped as part of the major Central Link roadworks project, with a safety review by Transport Malta finding that the junction between Triq l-Imdina and Triq in-Nutar Zarb could pose safety risks to road users.
“The only way to tackle this safety risk was to introduce a short merging lane in accordance with the applicable road construction specifications,” an Infrastructure Malta spokesperson told Lovin Malta.
“The only way to tackle this safety risk was to introduce a short merging lane in accordance with the applicable road construction specifications. This merging lane will improve drivers’ visibility and reduce collision risks.”
“To fit the new short merging lane, two of the road’s existing trees will be uprooted and transplanted in another location. The new footpath along this part of the road will still be wide enough to be accessible to all, in line with applicable guidelines.”
It noted that the development has already been approved by both the Planning Authority and the Environment and Resources Authority.
The spokesperson added that when the Central Link Project is ready, there will be some 333 more trees along the entire project area in Birkirkara, Balzan and Attard than there were before the project started.
What do you make of the situation in Attard?
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