PL Councillors Will Work To Remove ‘No Ball, No Bicycle’ Signs From Playgrounds, Deputy Leader Confirms
No balls, no bicycles, no dogs… no more?
PL deputy leader Daniel Micallef has announced the Labour Party will embark on a process to remove signs forbidding children from bringing play items to public playgrounds.
“A few years ago, I told a conference that it doesn’t make sense to see all the restriction signs forbidding balls, bicycles and scooters, etcetera,” Micallef told the PL general conference tonight.
“A few months later, the PL administration visited a school and children bought up this exact same point with us.”
He said that with the help of Local Councils Association President Mario Fava, he established that there wasn’t any kind of law that obliged these signs to remain in place.
“I can therefore announce that the PL councillor section will coordinate work to remove these signs so our children will be able to play freely in our playgrounds and gardens. Meanwhile, measures will be taken to segregate different activities.”
Tonight’s general conference had a strong political emphasis on the need to safeguard open spaces and create new ones.
PL President Ramona Attard hailed the recent pedestrianisation of the Marsalforn waterfront and said she hopes all village squares will eventually become traffic-free.
Prime Minister Robert Abela
In his closing speech, Prime Minister Robert Abela said the government needs to refocus its economic strategy to create more open spaces.
“While there’s no doubt that economic progress and wealth generation must go on, I ask whether the time has come to reflect on whether we should focus this progress better to improve our quality of life,” he said.
“This means we must start striking a better balance between development that renders millions for the country and projects that mightn’t render so much money but can be enjoyed by more people.”
Citing recent projects such as the transformation of a dumping ground at Wied Fulija, Żurrieq into a green area and the creation of a park at Ta’ Qali, Abela said the government will continue in this direction.
“We are showing that we understand that improving our quality of life doesn’t consist in uncontrolled development but in having a lovelier country with more open spaces, both in Gozo and in Malta.”
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