Plans to transform Coast Road

Anthony Pace Gouder

Jan 2nd 2010, 22:04

Seems that the present administration has no intention to promote Malta's Road Network to European Standards .

Although ADT has yet to draw up the "'project description statement "' , it appears that no Local Govt. Road Planner and neither the usual Foreign Consultants have bothered to suggest the elimination and the re-routing of this CLUMSY , steep (by European Standard) road section which climbs unnecessary from the White Rocks access road (POINT "A") to its Maximum level , close to the cemetry (POINT "B") , to immediately start a gradual slope down as far as the Pembroke Traffic Lights (POINT "C').


"A" to "B" results in circa AN ELEVATION OF 34 metres (height of an 11 STOREY building!) in a distance of 700 metres., "B" to"C" is c. 38 metres in 1650 metres .
Gradient A-B is X 2.5 B-C.

Other defeciencies along this stretch are the 2 TRAFFIC LIGHTS , the numerous ACCESS ROADS , 2 busy PETROL STATIONS , BUS TERMINUS ,LUXOL FOOTBALL GROUND , RESIDENTIAL HOUSES and JESSIES BAR !!!!!!! Additional to these is proposed huge PARK & RIDE at RAFFLES .

Definately a connectiing road from the Regional-Road VIA Pembroke to White-rocks is a necessity!

A Cutajar

Jan 2nd 2010, 00:03

@Jason Muscat: "...Now we have another EU funded project which did not think for cycling lanes. The Marsaskala by pass project".
And what about this same EU-funded route being FULLY compliant with accessibility audit prepared by the KPND? The quality of sidewalks/kerbs in the vicinity of a well known ODZ supermarket is a particular case in point!

Warren F Sammut

Jan 1st 2010, 18:48

I belief that with regards to the development of infrastructure should be in other areas. I think this could have waited.

Keith Davis

Jan 1st 2010, 17:17

What about including RENEWABLE ENERGY resources within this and each new project?

TRW O'Neill

Jan 1st 2010, 12:29

What is the betting that this project willl take any Maltese Contractor at least 2 years to do ONE Kilometre of a 4 lane road, so it will take at least 10 years to finish this job. What will happen to any motorist wanting to use the road during constuction of the new road ? It will be Chaos , as Maltese workmen are too slow , & very untidy when moving materials about. I suggest that you let the illegals do the work., thay will probably make a better job of it. QED.

Karl Zarb

Jan 1st 2010, 10:24

Taf x'naf inghid? Li wahda mill-isbah toroq fil-pajjiz li tiehu pjacir issuq fiha matul naqra kosta, illum ikollok 7mitt sena sakemm tghaddi ghax bir-riha tossika tal-mizbla ma tissaportix u jkollok taghlaq it-twieqi tal-karozza u zzomm in-nifs!! Tghid tkun qed issir naqra hsara? Imma bilhaqq xi hadd li JSERVI kien wieghed li IL-MAGHTAB TERGA TIBDA TWARRAD!! u tghidx kemm capcpulu...........il-bciecen!! U tghid mhux sejjer nippassigga u niehu dik l-arja PURA!! fil-pulmun! IVA, VERA NIXTIEQ LI L-AFFARIJIET ISIRU BIS-SERJETA IMMA BI X-XEWQA HA NIBQA....L-AQWA LI DHALNA FL-EU, IMMA L-EU STANDARDS GHADHOM IDURU FL-ORBITA' GHALINA.

George Casha

Jan 1st 2010, 00:51

If we use the Mtarfa Ferry Terminal as a yardstick for completion of any project this present Government announces, then I am afraid all of you would soon lose your enthusiasm. But I suppose having Maltese and Tourists wait in the scorching Sun another summer for the Gozo Ferry means nothing to those in power. How many projects have been announced and never even started so far?. Don't they realize by now that the People cannot be taken for fools forever?.

victor vella

Dec 31st 2009, 23:57

when are we going to have a culture of proper drivin here in Malta? it is not speed that kills but allowing sub standard cars into the country, cars which are not safe dus to thier build. Speed with proper attention to regulations does not kill it is crazyness and selfishness that kills.

Joe Anastasi

Dec 31st 2009, 18:01

Ah, common sense at last. Happy New Year to you all.

But why then, I wonder, was all the Coast Road narrowed some years ago? We were told it was to make it safer !

Is this another perfect case of one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing ?

Anthony Pace Gouder

Dec 31st 2009, 14:58

PART 2

Regarding foreign Consultants !
Its DISGRACEFUL that after all these years THE MINISTRY still has to rely on foreign expertise in this field . I remember MALTESE engineers had been training abroad , years ago. Where are they now ? Have they all emigrated to Europe ?

Haven't we had enough of the nonsense ! Seeing roads that required slight widening and at lengthy intervals, to become dual carriageways , have stupidly been reduced , at these wise experts" recommendations to SINGLE LANE ,nerve racking roads.Ttypical is the tal-Balal SanGwann -Naxxar road .

It would have been better to tackle this road , as frustrating long lasting TRAFFIC JAMS have become a daily occurance .whereas this is contrary on the Coast Road , as traffic flows smoothly , to the extent that excessive speed ,regretfully , was the cause of FATAL accidents .

Without doubt , priorities are being ignored ! When shall THEY ever learn?

Anthony Pace Gouder

Dec 31st 2009, 13:29

Widened to a FOUR-LANE road , is quite a misleading term .

Roads / Motorways terminology is based on the Lane/ lanes in each direction . Therfore this road will become a dual-carriageway ,or a two- lane road instead of a single lane . Aldo Moro - Labour road in Marsa is the our only 4- lane stretch . The section , shown in the photo , actually extends from Luxol to Bahar ic-caghaq is already WIDE enough to qualify as a two lane road .
Having a cycle lane an "intgral part " of a motorway IS TOTALLY non-standard , and contravenes the Code of Practice ! A "Cold Shoulder" for Emergencies , break-downs etc. is what the code stipulates . Cycle Lanes generally run adjacent with a seperating soft-strip from the road . Lets not forget that this is "supposed" to be a European Ten-T Road.!

It will be an impossibility , WITHOUT re-routing , large scale demolition and / or major structural works, for THE ENTIRE MALTA TEN-T Road, to conform to European Standards , considering the route has various un-acceptable gradients , black spots , with un-believibly even a Bar entrance abutting at 60 centimeters !

Jon Vercellono

Dec 31st 2009, 08:50

Priorities - no money for the tram project? No money for the investigation to alternative greener transportation. Informal surveys in Msida reveal that many people have stated that they would use alternative means of transport and give up the car. So increase pollution - spend more tax money - increase the volume of cars - and curiously give up the tram project (simple physics reveals the efficiency of trams - look it up - its true). When I saw the Tram Project revealed - I was impressed with the "out of the box" thinking.

N.Cauchi

Dec 31st 2009, 08:24

I'd rather if the fix the roads rather than a 4 lane road which essentially we do not need.
Priorities!

Darren Sciberras

Dec 31st 2009, 08:23

Pity the article does not mention any (approximate) completion dates for this project. Having lived in Bahar ic-Caghaq for 5 years (between 1998 and 2003), and having to use the coast road regularly to commute between home and work, it will be interesting to see the upgrade when we come back for our holidays in 2012.

Roderick Micallef

Dec 31st 2009, 08:06

It is a good initiative to make our roads safer but to be honest I can't understand how good this project can be because :-
1. Even if the whole coast road is widened, where it actually starts (Salina side) and where it finishes (Pembroke) are not exactly multiple lane roads so why widen only the stretch in between?
2. Bicycle lanes, I think that these lanes are the biggest joke of the decade. Most of the bicycle lanes are not real bicycle lanes AT ALL. Most of these lanes start at one point but than finish like a dead end, they are far from consistent, if you had to be on a bicycle you would soon realize that after a few metres or km's you will not be able to drive on a bicycle lane any more. This also applies for the coast road especially Pembroke Side.
3.Feasibility, no one has mentioned how much this project will cost, even if most of the funds are coming from the EU, there are roads which are FAR worst than the coast road safety wise, a typical example would be the road that leads from Rabat to Attard (known as Rabat Road)

Mark Blackburn

Dec 30th 2009, 23:25

@ Charles Portelli
''As long as national speed limit applies (80km/h) for the speed traps, I won't complain!''
You must be joking. Please mention one road in Malta that contains a speed camera and the speed limit is 80kmph. on the coast road they even go a step further and are signed as 70 kmph before the camera and 60kmph after the camera. if you are not aware you fall right into this SPEED TRAP. Driving, Roads, Cameras, Malta, A COMPLETE AND UTTER JOKE.

lgalea

Dec 30th 2009, 21:16

Ron Saliba
We have lost industries and jobs with eu membership, including jobs being taken by foreigners in our own country to the detriment of Maltese citizens.a few hundred Maltese workers found jobs in other countries but thousands of foreigners with or without work permits are working in Malta instead of Maltese workers.

Paul Barrett

Dec 30th 2009, 20:30

From the picture provided with this article, I am surprised that no comments have been made regarding the white line marking the cycle path. The people responsible for road markings really should take lessons in how to mark roads without them looking completely armature and or incompetent.

Paul Barrett

Dec 30th 2009, 20:22

@ C Cassar. You are correct in that my statement about bends is ambiguous and could be read literally or colloquially. On the bends in this case means as applied to negotiate the bends and not literally as in the middle of the maneuver. That is precisely why a road like the Coastroad is so good to drive. To drive it properly you need to concentrate, judge the right gear change place, accelerate through the bend and change gear again. By that, I do not mean that you have to exceed the national speed limit either. It is a road you can drive as opposed to just wandering along in the wrong gear, sightseeing, talking on the mobile phone or hanging your arm out of the window with mind in neutral.

C Cassar

Dec 30th 2009, 19:29

@ Paul Barrett : Good driving technique states to be in the right gear BEFORE you enter a bend, so when you state "use driving skills in gear changing on the bends", this is part and parcel of the reason why people lose control of their cars along this stretch of the road. A car is much more stable in a bend when on a light throttle and NO gear change is made. Changing gear in a bend means lifting off the throttle which unsettles the car - which is a no-no known to any experienced driver (especially in the wet).

Ron Saliba

Dec 30th 2009, 19:27

@lgalea Have you considered that the fee you are so obsessed with may be being paid by joe public in taxes who still has a job cos we are in the eu? no need to reply, cos by your comments i am sure that you are anti eu no matter what.

MARK MIFSUD BONNICI

Dec 30th 2009, 18:41

Strange no one mentioned the fig tree that overhangs the cycle lane a few metres before the place where Clifford was killed. This tree definitely caused Clifford to veer out of the cycle lane and meet his death. Can anyone seriously consider our cycle lanes as anything less then death traps!!!

Wilfred L Camilleri

Dec 30th 2009, 17:58

Although I somewhat agree with Mr. Barrett about the road being fun to drive on, safety has to be the overriding concern here . The coast road is one of the most beautiful in Malta and widening it to four lanes would make it more enjoyable as drivers will not have to worry about hot-heads trying to pass them around corners and hills.

Paul Barrett

Dec 30th 2009, 17:47

It will be a shame to loose this road as it is one of the most enjoyable to actually drive on where you can actually use driving skills in gear changing on the bends. What is needed on the road is "passing places" places where slow vehicles can pull over and allow faster moving traffic to get past them safely (like on the hill to Mosta from St Paul's Bay - but not just on up hill portions). Remove the cycle lanes from the main road = put a cycle track on the sea side of the Coastroad, clear of the traffic. One of the major faults in road building seems to be that "camber" is often none-existent or set wrongly. Additionally roads are being built "flat" which actually makes it quite hard to stop a vehicle wandering - there should be a "crown" to the center of the road but alas this page seems to be missing from road building manual. When is that extremely poor (bumpy) patching at Kennedy Grove going to be re-done - even the new surface is breaking up already.

Pamela Hansen

Dec 30th 2009, 17:46

Clive Borg and others, there is no doubt that too many drivers do not drive safely. However, it is much more dangerous to overtake in single lanes. It is not only irresponsible and people who drive too fast that overtake slow moving traffic and trucks emitting foul fumes and dust. Double lanes, a central strip and a decent cycle lane should make the road safer. One cannot not improve roads because of those who abuse them. The answer is not more speed cameras ( the road hogs ignore them anyway) but suspending licences for drink and reckless driving.

zammit johann

Dec 30th 2009, 17:31

ghid li ghandha sa l elezjoni biex titlesta mela.

lgalea

Dec 30th 2009, 17:19

p.s. The €182,192 is a DAILY FEE which is sent every month to the eu.

Lawrence Fenech

Dec 30th 2009, 16:58

I would suggest to transform maniac car drivers round the clock.

Happy memories of my friend Cliff.

john micallef

Dec 30th 2009, 16:58

am i wrong, wasn't this road 'redone' two - three years ago? if so, why wasn't it properly done (four laned)? squandering of public funds? maybe

m bonello

Dec 30th 2009, 16:15

@Mario De bono

You are so right! I can't understand how Malta's only Ten-T road which is supposed to be the back bone artery of our road network passes through the middle of a village and is continually interrupted by traffic lights. When are we going to learn to go underground as you say. Same problem is at xemxija - the hill part it gets as narrow as a village alley and yet it's part of Ten-T.

And what about the use if I.T. in our roads? Media with live information about traffic jams and accidents to reduce further traffic jams and pollution e.g. websites, radio and tv stations giving traffic updates (not only news and weather), live road monitoring cameras to judge the traffic density in a road before a journey. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to create these things and they are not too expensive either.

smifsud

Dec 30th 2009, 16:10

its about time as this road should have been done years ago ......and im sure it will take years to finish.

clive borg

Dec 30th 2009, 15:57

@ Pamela Hansen

Safer if they widen the road, it will be much more dangerous and full of people overspeeding, its better if they remove the bends rather than widen the road.. it will become a little bit safer...

Paul Cave

Dec 30th 2009, 15:37

Until driving standards improve in this country, which will only happen with proper enforcement of existing laws, no amount of road schemes will have the slightest effect on the number of deaths and injuries to road users of all varieties. The coast road is no more inherently dangerous than most other roads in Malta and Gozo. Poor and impatient driving is the real problem.

Martin Triganza

Dec 30th 2009, 15:31

To upgrade Rudoph Street in Sliema, a road of just one kilometre, it took several months to finish off the works. Imagine how long it will take to finish off the 7.2 kms road and to widen it to four lanes!! Nilhaq immut !!

AJ Cachia

Dec 30th 2009, 15:24

When will this be done...the same length of time it took to decide on the Kappara fly-over ......i.e Decades !

JAFarrugia

Dec 30th 2009, 15:16

Upgrading any of our roads is more than welcome, but i suggest a seriuos campaign on how to drive as thats whats getting worst. Dual carriageways will mean more morons drivng at 20kph on the outer lane or in the middle, or schumachers maltese cousin thinking he's at Monaco.
And yes PAMELA, instead of filling some huge holes(quarries) they decide to make a couple of Matterhorns next to Mount Blanc on the coast road. The mind boggles.

Charles Micallef

Dec 30th 2009, 14:53

I just hope that the junctions leading to Il-Maghtab and Pembroke will be addressed with roundabouts or such and the road will be designed for safe driving and not a race track!

Denis A. Darmanin

Dec 30th 2009, 14:49

"If approved, the road between the English Cemetery in Pembroke....."
Sorry, but it's not an English Cemetery but a Military Cemetery in which many Maltese and other nationalities are also burried. Let's quit the direct translation when everything 'tal-Inglizi' becomes 'English'. It is British, which in Maltese is 'Britannici', even though it's quite a mouthful to say.
Sahha.

I. Camilleri

Dec 30th 2009, 14:32

Why don’t people ask this: “why are all these people with (so called) pimped-out cars always going fast in the raods?” the answer to it will solve lots of problems. Give them somewhere where they can let loose and they will not feel the need to over speed in the road… Please don’t say there is the straight line quarter mile….

John Azzopardi

Dec 30th 2009, 14:27

It is really a shame that to get something moving in this country it takes years and years. Widening and division of the coast road was the obvious solution and the realignment should have been carried out long ago. The long-winded bureaucracy that we delight in involving ourselves in will ensure that the project will not see the light of day until another few years. This is really a shame because in this particular case there is no other plausible solution except the 'do nothing' option.

Mike Farrugia

Dec 30th 2009, 14:15

Since this project is in it's infancy stage, can someone please tell the designer that the driving limit in Malta is 80Km/hr? We have too many new projects not capable of taking national speed limits safely.
(......or are they done on purpose to cash more fines?????)

C Cassar

Dec 30th 2009, 14:08

Surely increasing the Coast Road to 4 lanes will allow traffic to travel even faster than it is now? Most cars are already breaking the speed limit as it is, so unless a central barrier is installed along the length of this road, the combined speed of cars travelling in opposite directions will be catastrophic. What's needed along the entire stretch of this road is a sequence of average speed cameras. That way traffic will not slow down and speed up as with the fixed speed camera already there.

Unmarked police cars should patrol this road 24 hrs a day to deter wreckless driving such as crossing the double solid white lines in the centre of the road. I have yet to find anyone in Malta who doesn't see a problem in doing this. The reply is normally 'Well, it's clear coming the other way, so what's wrong?' which is a typicl uneducated driver response. Zero tolerance to traffic violations along this stretch (at the minimum) and heavy fines for not indicating when passing another car, something like minimum €100 for not indicating. This would stop most traffic violations within a week of implementation.

JAFarrugia

Dec 30th 2009, 14:00

Any news which involes upgrading our roads is welcome, however unless the Govt tackles the large amount of useless drivers things arent going to change. dual carriage way will just mean either idiots driving at 20kph on the outer lane or some F1

Galea. L

Dec 30th 2009, 13:44

Pamela Hansen
You are seeing Mount Maghtab 2, 3 etc.

lgalea

Dec 30th 2009, 13:41

Mvella
Not only are you right regarding the 20%, but one must also remember that the 80% from eu funds are OUR MONEY which we send to the eu (€182,192 Government fee, all customs duties and levies, part of VAT etc) and then it gives us back some of it with all strings attached and only after God knows how many years had passed from the completion of the project.
First the eu has to agree with the project and its funding, then Joe Public has to fund the whole project and then perhaps when the eu decides after examining that it has complied with everything that the eu wanted, then years after we receive the money.

So you see my friend, the Government is again deceiving the people when it says that the project is going to be 80% funded by eu money.

This is apart from the problem of how Joe Public who is, as we say in Maltese b'id wahda wara u l-ohra quddiem, can find money for the project. Through further taxes no doubt for a project to provide more publicity stunts (e.g.Palace Square) rather than for more useful e.g. health projects..

Pierre Grima

Dec 30th 2009, 13:37

@MVella,

I believe everything is wrong with the coast road. It is a 7km single lane bypass! where no one can safely overtake trucks and slow moving cars. It is full of blind corners, It has no central strips to avoid head on collisions and the bicycle lane is part of the road. (with cars sometimes stopping on the side of the road and blocking the bicycle lane in the process).

Due to these flaws, it is the most famous Maltese road for accidents, near fatalities and fatalities!

Mario De Bono

Dec 30th 2009, 13:34

So some Einstein at the ministry decided to widen this road without adddressing the problem that there is at St Andrews in front of Jesse's bar. The road gets narrow here. As far as I am aware, there were plans to put this portion of the road underground or create some sort of underpass from the pembroke turnoff to the coast road. When are we going to start tunelling and put our roads underground? We have a minister who does not believe in tunnels, it seems. And yet we have the capabilities to construct tunnels and the rock to harbour them. A tunnel from reginal road near paceville and exiting on the coastt road would give us a real highway not the joke highways we have . Ten-T project indeed! They laugh at us in the EU, when it comes to roads. We are incapable of building a decent road under this minister, because all we want to do is skimp and save money with no thought for the future. the car is a reality in Malta and its here to stay, and no amount of Public transport reform or using wardens to oppress motorists for lucre will change that.

robert mifsud

Dec 30th 2009, 13:26

The project sounds nice but how long will it take to finish,years and years ?

Ian Vassallo

Dec 30th 2009, 13:25

I totally agree with this project

@ Gregory Apap Bologna, its true its very very dangerous to cycle there...

Saviour Sam Agius

Dec 30th 2009, 13:17

I hope that cyclists will be consulted during the design stage of the project. We don't want more pseudo-cycle lanes on our streets.

Jason Muscat

Dec 30th 2009, 13:02

It had to take a life for the roads dep tot find out that the cycling lanes are unsafe? Despite all the letters published on the Times of Malta which were not taken into consideration. I just wonder how people who are responsible for such planning manage to put their head on the pillow at night.
Now we have another EU funded project which did not think for cycling lanes. The Marsaskala by pass project.
Well done!!

J.Borg

Dec 30th 2009, 12:52

About time we came to know that we should have two lane roads and not single lane ones, with supposedly bicycle lanes!!!!

Have any of the the ADT members ever encountred a heavy loaded truck on a single lane road.......and then we are told to keep stress at a minimum....no wonder many people are being diagnosed with high blood pressure.

At least we are starting to make sense.....hope the project starts yesterday than tomorrow.

Miguel Micallef

Dec 30th 2009, 12:50

I use this road every day and I think that it does in fact need to become safer. A totally separate cyclist lane would be a tremendous improvement.

The stench on some days is beyond belief, but I guess we have to get used to that. Garbage in, garbage out! Literally.

P Abela

Dec 30th 2009, 12:45

"... to widen the Coast Road in August."
Charming! Of all months to start the works why August? Hello does one have to be a rocket scientist to see the pitfall in the natural traffic disruptions this will entail in the summer months? Why not start the works in a "leaner" period?

N.Pace Debono

Dec 30th 2009, 12:44

Q. 1. Is the reconstruction of this road going to take priority over other roads that may need more attention? Like erm......too many to mention....
Q.2. When will this happen and how long will it take? (for inconvenience purposes)
Q.3. Will the finished product be enjoyable and scenic as it is today (yes its my fav rd!)

Otherwise prosit

thanks

Charles Portelli

Dec 30th 2009, 12:35

As long as national speed limit applies (80km/h) for the speed traps, I won't complain!

Rachel Attard

Dec 30th 2009, 12:28

The Salina Coast Road needs a centre strip

M. Vella

Dec 30th 2009, 12:25

@ MVella

I don't totally agree with you when you say that there is nothing wrong with the coast road - yes there is a lot of irresponsible driving but it is very clear that you don't use it to cycle.

Try cycling there one day and then see if you can still come out with such as statement

Pamela Hansen

Dec 30th 2009, 12:22

Hopefully, the road will become safer.
Shame about the stench on one of our most picturesque coast roads.
I doubt we can do much about that.
Is it my fertile imagination, or are there now additional dumping hills further on from the maghtab mount?

J Farrugia

Dec 30th 2009, 12:22

It would be a waste of money to widen this stretch of road and then near the Pembroke School (or ex Forum Hotel) the road has to come to terms with just a one lane both sides as we near Paceville. ANd there is no chance that this stretch of Saint Andrews can be widened as the Ministry hopes. SO better to leave things as they are, put in speed cameras to avoid traffic accidents and place some wardens in the cold outside to care for the traffic. What's the use of widening roads when all of a sudden you are faced with just one lane. And that is the point where the traffic jams or slows down.

B Sant

Dec 30th 2009, 12:21

finally!!!!!!!
i hope then that a petrol station opens and they remove the cyclists lane to accomodate the owenr as happened in limits of rabat

G. AB

Dec 30th 2009, 12:20

I hope the bicycle lanes are not part of the road but on a separate path secluded from the main road... the ''cycle lane'' on the coast road is generally full of fragments of broken glass and cycling through these lanes can easily land you a puncture hence cyclists have no option but to use the main road which is a greather threat for themselves and motorists alike...

Mvella

Dec 30th 2009, 12:16

''The Ten-T project is 80 per cent EU-funded and involves the reconstruction of 14 kilometres of roads and the widening and reconstruction of a further 12.4 kilometres of roads from single to double lanes''

Who wants to bet that the remaining 20% is going to be funded by Joe Public following the installation of speed cameras?

I have said it before and will say it again - there is nothing wrong with the Coast Road! It's the continuous irresponsible driving by some heroes in pimped cars that cause the accidents.