Plan to end Valletta traffic chaos

The traffic chaos of Valletta could soon be consigned to the scrapheap under plans to cut by half the number of commuter cars coming in to Floriana and the capital city every day.

The government is proposing to pedestrianise more roads, do away with reserved parking and impose parking fees on every vehicle except for those of residents and delivery vans, in an initiative set to bring about a drastic change to the way traffic is managed in Valletta.

The planned park and ride scheme forms an integral part of the strategy, while the V licence would be eliminated.

The strategy, drawn up by the Cabinet Committee for National Projects headed by Minister Austin Gatt, was presented for deliberation to various organisations over the past weeks. Each organisation, ranging from the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU to Din l-Art Helwa, to the association of taxi owners, has been invited to present its counter proposals. A White Paper will then be published on August 7.

A spokesman for the Government Investments Ministry insisted that the proposals were not as yet etched in stone and that the government was prepared to take every counter-proposal into consideration.

Statistics show that the traffic situation in the area is anarchic. A staggering 34,500 people who work in Valletta and Floriana drive to work in their own cars. Every day, more than 20,300 cars wend their way through traffic-choked streets into the city itself. All the parking spaces available - nearly 3,000 - are full by 8 a.m. and remain occupied until 5 p.m.

With 15,000 employees entering the city in their own vehicles, very little parking space is left for the residents, shoppers and visitors. A total of 33,000 vehicles have the V licence, which allows them to enter Valletta, and only 5,000 of them belong to residents.

The government is proposing to eliminate the Lm20 V licence, at a reduction of Lm700,000 from its coffers.

Part of the government strategy consists of a park and ride scheme from Hornworks Ditch, in Floriana, that will link motorists to the city centre via an electric shuttle bus. The car park is expected to provide 950 parking spaces.

In an attempt to encourage more turnover of vehicles, parking in Valletta will be charged in relation to the length of time spent there. It has not yet been established whether tolls will be the same across all areas of Valletta and Floriana.

Alternative systems being considered are traditional parking meters, exclusion parking and telepass systems. The establishment of a number of new car parks around the city is also being considered, though finding free space in a city brimming with historical gems may be well nigh impossible.

A system of internal transportation in the city is being proposed though the means of transport is as yet unclear.

Ultimately, the government wants to encourage more use of under-utilised public transport.

The document proposes that Castille Place and Merchants Street, from the open-air market to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, will become pedestrian-only.

"At the moment there is broad consensus among the organisations we've spoken to that we need to find a solution to the traffic problem. Let's hope we now all agree on a way forward," the spokesman said.