SLIEMA – where has the “peace” gone?!

Sliema, 8.00 a.m. Waves lapping. Seagulls squawking. People

strolling… Horns honking. Workmen digging …

The Maltese word Sliema means peace and tranquillity.

Our school is located in the heart of Sliema. Over the past years, our

journey towards school has always ended with a peaceful, picturesque

ride by the Sliema coastline from where we could admire beautiful

yachts rocking gently on the calm, azure waters.

The situation has, however, changed drastically over the past year. Our

journey to school has indeed become an urban nightmare. This change

has been mainly brought about by the extensive construction and road

works being carried out. For instance, in

most of the streets surrounding the school

one will surely find a crane, a lorry or some

other heavy vehicle blocking the street and

carrying out building works.

The map below shows the streets in close proximity to our school. The

red arrows indicate the places where construction or road works are

being carried out (at the time of writing this report). The yellow circle

pinpoints the location of our school. As can be seen, there are 9

separate construction sites in an area less than 1 km2 surrounding our

school.

(Map Source: Google Earth)

These works lead to a variety of problems, namely:

Traffic Congestion

Heavy vehicles parked in the streets, or blocking the entry to main

arterial roads, cause traffic havoc.

Potholes and broken pavements

Tarmac often gives way under the pressure

created by the heavy vehicles, resulting in

dangerous walking for pedestrians.

Lack of parking

Parking spaces have been greatly reduced

due to either the closure of some streets or large spaces being reserved

for construction vehicles.

Noise pollution

The at times incessant digging, drilling, hammering,

and engine roaring can become very stressful on

Sliema residents. These have to put up with the noise throughout most

of the daylight hours.

Air pollution

The stone works inevitably liberate a huge

amount of dust into the atmosphere. A

recent study carried out by our school for the

NSTF Science Week on the pH values of rain water in Malta, has shown

that the pH value of rain in Sliema is significantly higher than that of

other localities. (pH < 7 indicates acidity, pH > 7 indicates alkalinity).

Rain water was collected from 20 localities distributed in the northern,

central and southern parts of Malta. The graph below shows the mean

pH value from 7 readings for the rain water collected from the different

localities.

(Source: NSTF Science Project - St. Joseph School Sliema)

The data we obtained showed that the high pH value of rain water in

Sliema is second only to that in Swieqi, where extensive construction is

also taking place. After researching ‘Alkaline Rain’, we found that the

major cause of alkaline rain is the presence of calcium carbonate

(limestone) dust in the air.

In conclusion, our results suggest that the presence of excess dust in

the air of localities such as Sliema and Swieqi is contributing to

alkalinisation of rain pH.

Studies have shown that air pollution is closely related to various health

problems. While talking to the residents in one of the neighbouring

streets we were also told that they have a problem with drainage flow –

every few weeks they have to unblock their

manholes. Could it be that the drainage system is

not coping with the augmented flow coming from the increased number

of houses being built?

Furthermore, is the construction having any

effect on the coastline and the marine life?

We think that several factors need to be

considered before the old, majestic, beautiful buildings in Sliema are

indiscriminately pulled down to be replaced by high, imposing boxes of

apartments. We propose that:

Only a limited number of permits for construction should be

approved at one time.

There should be an increase in fees to be paid by cranes or heavy

vehicles obstructing the roads. This will help speed up the works.

There should be prompt resurfacing of roads to repair any

damage.

There could be incentives for people to enhance the appearance

of their building façade by decorating with flower pots etc.

Don’t the Sliema residents deserve the peace and tranquillity that the

name of their town promises?

(All photos herein where taken on site by the participants)