Cynthia Busuttil
Għadira road plans include car parks
Two car parks will be built on either end of the popular Għadira bay if the government goes ahead with its plan to replace the existing road, The Times has learned.
The Transport Ministry said plans have not yet been finalised but the car parks will "almost certainly" not be underground.
One car park would be placed next to the Seabank Hotel and another close to the green boathouses at the other end, along with public transport facilities.
The news emerges as the government comes under heavy fire for its plans to demolish the existing coast road and replace it with another one running alongside the back of the Danish Village complex and the Għadira nature reserve, touching the Foresta 2000 project site.
The project, mainly funded by the EU, is needed to address the area's parking problem among other things, according to Transport Minister Austin Gatt. The parking spaces lost from the existing road will be replaced with the new car parks.
The ministry said yesterday that the existing dual-lane road would be replaced with a much narrower wooden structure on stilts, mainly for pedestrians, together with extended paving and verges. The structure, the ministry said, would allow access without blocking the natural replenishment of the beach.
It would be able to support small vehicles to ensure accessibility for persons with mobility impairments but would not be a public road for regular traffic.
The ministry said plans still have to be finalised before a planning application is made to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. The submission would be made "when and if" the government decides to consider the option under review.
Besides criticism from environmental NGOs because of the potential impact on the nature reserve and the Foresta 2000 site, the Danish Village has also raised concerns that the road would ruin the aesthetics of the low-rise tourist complex.
But Dr Gatt has insisted that maintaining the status quo is not an option, especially since the sandy beach is slowly being eroded. He did not back up his assertion with any studies.
Din l-Art Ħelwa, the heritage trust, yesterday said it was incomprehensible that the main reason behind the proposed road is the conservation and replenishment of the beach when this plan was reportedly not supported by studies.
Dr Gatt had admitted on Wednesday that the plans were not backed by any studies.
Din l-Art Ħelwa also questioned whether the minister had been serious when he said he was still open to all options regarding the proposed road, as he intended to apply for EU funds for the project by January.
Even the Labour Party spoke out against the proposed road, saying that alternatives to the project exist.
During a meeting with environmental organisation Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar yesterday, party leader Joseph Muscat said he could not understand how the Infrastructure Minister said that the road would be developed when the next day the Rural Affairs Minister said that no decisions had yet been taken.
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Joseph Bilocca
Nov 30th 2008, 09:44
With regards to the original plans that is available on the ADT website, may I further suggest that the beach itself may be extened. One need not look only to what has been done in Dubai as far as land reclaimation is concerned, we have our own example in Birzebugia.
Paul Caruana
Nov 30th 2008, 09:27
May I refer all involved in the desicion making process to the following link:
http://www.maltatransport.com/en/ten-t/project/Project-X.pdf
This shows the original plan, and is available on the ADT website. It may not be perfect, but I honestly cannot see any really serious reason why government cannot proceed with these original plans....which have been already drawn up and can be submitted for EU funding immediately!
lgalea
Nov 29th 2008, 21:08
Discuss as much as you like, but don't be alienated from the problems which the Gonzipn budget has put on your shoulders.
Increased water and electricity tariffs, trebling of gas prices, the sewage tax.....
M Grech
Nov 29th 2008, 12:40
@R. Cauchi Inglott - Couldn't have spelled it out better. I dare add that the first car park will be administered by Seabank, whose customers will end up having priority. As Dr Gatt is not in charge of concessions, I will also dare add that a beach concession to Seabank might be thrown in to boost but one can never be sure as Dr Gatt would not know. In all probability, the total capacity of the two car parks will be less than the parking spaces presently available, and any improvement in public transport to the area will remain a dream.
May I also point out PN's electoral pledge to upgrade the Ghadira promenade from the present state of shambles in darkness. Upgrade what may I ask? A road that will be demolished? First we had a government of a lot of studies and little action. Now we seem to be heading to a lot of action with little or no studies! Why can't we ever get it right?
A.Cassar
Nov 29th 2008, 12:26
Here it seems that some people are in to make quite a buck of money.Lets start,you have the road cutting through foresta 2000.Ah do we remember how some Ministers shed crocodile tears because some idiot destroyed 3,000 trees.Here the speculators can have a field day with the amount of land which all of a sudden became up for grabs not to mention the car park.Now we all know that in Malta where ever you go parking is a problem,but we cannot solve problems by waisting more land just to favour some security company and make people pay through their nose like what is happening with the car park of Mater Dei Hospital.Finally the government said that he wants to enlarge the beach.It is not a bad idea, but can minister Gatt gives us a garuantee that their will be no more beach consessions?
Franco Farrugia
Nov 29th 2008, 11:17
I earnestly hope that an EIA is made with regard to this proposal. We should do everything in our power to save the little natural environment we have left in Malta. Development, and people's commodity and luxury, comes after.
Roger Cauchi Inglott
Nov 29th 2008, 10:57
I can already envisage the car parks being run by a private company and we'd have to pay extraordinary fees to park, in order to enjoy the beach. The car park will obviously be far enough to make it too tiresome to walk carrying beachware in the heat, so we'll have little choice but to pay for electric cabs to take us down to the beach. And of course these private cabs will have the privilege of using the wooden structure as if they own the place.........
Why not entrust the project to a non-profit nature organisation and all proceeds go to further reforestation of the area?
C Borg
Nov 29th 2008, 10:02
The silence emanating from the Mellieha Local Council is deafining... it is these sort of things that citizen joe expects from the LC to do - to stand up to big brother tactics rather than Festi Melliehin and that sort of non-sense.
What is wrong with re-doing the exisitng road and utilising the 3 stories or so of wasted land just in front of the Danish Village and turn it into a multi-storey car park? Moreover, a new road could easily be built on stilts to re-connect the Ghadira beach with the sanctuary.
Am astounded by the claim that various options were considered, have any of these options been considered at all?