Maltese residents express air quality worries

A group of residents from the Maltese resort of Sliema have voiced their concerns over air quality in the town.

The Malta Independent reported that members of the Sliema Residents' Association (SRA) addressed the town's mayor and local councillors over the problems with air pollution, that have been caused by heavy traffic and construction work.

According to the newspaper, the SRA is worried that the deterioration in air quality is having a negative impact on people's health.

On its website, the organisation noted that residents have complained of suffering from painful eyes and breathing difficulties on certain junctions and streets.

The SRA also called on the local council to draw up and implement a traffic management plan for the region and commented that the distribution of development planning permits in the area is "anything but sustainable".

Other initiatives requested by the association included the introduction of environmentally friendly buses and the hire of portable air quality monitoring equipment to fully assess pollution in the town, the news provider revealed.

Posted by Joseph Hutton