Thursday, 20th November 2008
Pavements are not owned by cafés
Street furniture being removed from St John's Square on Monday.
Rod Bere from Kent, UK (Why Can't We Sit In The Gozo Sunshine ? November 13) obviously has no idea what he is talking about.
The authorities are not forcing bars and restaurants to remove all the tables and chairs from the pavements, only those for which they do not hold a permit. Mr Bere does not realise that they have to apply for a permit to have seating outside their premises.
They cannot receive a permit for five tables and then decide to double that number just as they like.
While I agree that everyone, not just tourists, like to eat or drink al fresco, these bars have to comply by the regulations. It is the illegal seating that is being removed - after fair warning giving them the chance to do it themselves - has been issued.
Many areas are now being embellished with wider pavements, but this is being carried out for the comfort of pedestrians, especially those with wheel chairs, shopping trolleys, prams and pushchairs etc, not as an extra seating area, for bigger profits by the bar owners.
Mr Bere should remember the true use of pavements and that they are not owned by the bar owners.
People who openly flout the regulations, in defiance of warning notices, deserve all they get. A case in point is the example of a lovely new, wider, pavement being laid in my area, only for a club/bar which already has a yard with over 20 tables in it, to immediately reduce the width of the new pavement, by putting table and chairs on it.
I too, have seen this type of seating in London and elsewhere, but perhaps these countries have different regulations. Has Mr Bere checked on this ?
The rest of Mr Bere's letter, full of sarcasm and exaggeration, is not worthy of reply.
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Comments
"To add insult to injury, the lowering of pavments in front of garages is cruelty to handicapped persons"
Agree 100% with you. Pavements should all be level and anyone wanting to enter or exit his garage ought to have the wooden or steel removable ramps which were previously used by everyone, not when walking on the pavement one would be lucky not to slip or feel like he is on a small rowing boat in a Grigalata.
Unfortunately this does not apply the same to all places such as Paceville. No chance of using pushchairs or wheel chairs along the pavements where these Bars and Restaurants are:-
Browns, Black Bull, Higgins, The Avenue and the bar which is opposite Spinola gardens. (I do not know its name).
You are right in saying that a very small passage is left at the Strand Sliema, between Triq il-Madonna tas-Sacro Cuor and Manwel Dimech. But no one seems to care and for unknown reasons inspections are not carried out during the busy hours.
D Soler
Gzira