Two years ago, almost exactly to the day, a letter was posted to the executive chairman of the (then) Malta Transport Authority (ADT) shortly after the tragic accident at Baħar iċ-Ċaħaq in which a cyclist lost his life.

The letter pointed out that little or nothing was being done to encourage cycling by making it safer in spite of the declared aim of Malta’s road restoration master plan of “promoting cycling as a sustainable form of transport, to provide the necessary supporting infrastructure, where possible, which includes the provision of cycle lanes and the provision of cycle racks”.

Attention was also drawn to detailed recommendations in paragraphs 670-684 of the think tank report Towards A Low Carbon Society – The Nation’s Health, Energy Security And Fossil Fuels. Most of the recommendations for popularising cycling involved trivial or minor expenditure, so there are few grounds for neglecting these simple measures to improve safety on our roads for all.

Needless to say, the letter to ADT was never answered and nothing significant happened in the intervening two years. Such “cycle lanes” as had been installed have now faded; these were so unprofessionally designed as to be useless or positively dangerous.

Only two minor but nonetheless welcome advances have been made. One of these was the installation of cycle racks at the main entrance of Mater Dei Hospital, which will serve to prompt both staff and visitors who live nearby to consider cycling to Mater Dei, thus easing the parking problem. Another positive measure was allowing careful bicycle users to use the Sliema promenade as a means of encouraging bicycle use for short distance errands such as local shopping. The latter is particularly relevant in the light of the 2010 national household survey, which showed that 13 per cent of car trips are short ones within the same locality.

People in Malta perceive cycling as dangerous and this perception is justified. The most important measure to encourage bicycle use must therefore be to alter attitudes of motorists so that they accept cyclists as legitimate users of the road. This needs education, improvement of the Highway Code, minor legislative changes and, not least, the adoption of a tough legal stance against motorists who cause injury to cyclists.

All this, and other measures, are described in part III of the think tank report, copies of which were sent to key government departments. The think tank also intends circulating another report, Healthy Mobility In Sliema, which was originally submitted to the Sliema mayor. Many of the recommen­dations in this report apply to other urban areas in Malta. Both reports can be downloaded from www.tppi.org.mt/cms/index.php/reports.

Transport Malta is also urged to consult the EU document, Analysis And Development Of New Insights Into Substitution Of Short Car Trips By Cycling And Walking (ADONIS) report (www.vejdirektoratet.dk/pdf/adonis/adonis.pdf), which catalogues guidelines for measures to be implemented in large and medium-sized cities around Europe for stimulating cycling and walking and cutting the number of short trips by car.

Increasing traffic congestion has made promotion of walking and bicycle use a matter of urgency in many towns and cities in Europe and America where urban roads are being systematically transformed into paved streets adapted for walking and cycling. Traffic in Malta is rapidly reaching saturation. Car use is already impractical or futile for short trips. There is also the health issue of pollution and our increasing rate of obesity. One obvious approach to the worsening traffic problem is provision of good public transport. Let us hope that Arriva will soon get there. The other approach is to encourage healthy mobility – cycling and walking – for short trips.

If the right conditions are created, people might be induced to change from car to walking or cycling for local trips, thus reducing intra-urban traffic. If healthy and safe mobility is to be encouraged, a profound change in philosophy at Transport Malta is needed.

The two overarching requirements are making cycling on our roads safer and making our urban roads pedestrian friendly. General issues also to be addressed in this context are a more stringent driving licence testing procedure, appropriate revision of the traffic code in favour of pedestrians and cyclists, safe speed limits in urban areas and strong measures to combat drink-driving.

Since it is impossible to construct a comprehensive network of cycle lanes, tracks or paths, it is inevitable that cyclists must share the road with motor traffic most of the time. The most essential condition of all is to ensure the safety of people who might opt to start using a bicycle. For this reason, motorists’ driving skills, behaviour and attitudes to sharing the road with cyclists and other road users must change.

Finally, it is important that experienced cyclists are involved in defining policies aimed at encouraging cycling and their implementation.

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