Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) welcomed the permit issued this week for the flyover at Kappara.

It said it appreciated the efforts made by Transport Malta to amend its plans following the interventions of FAA, Nature Trust and Kappara residents, who objected to the destruction of a large number of trees in the Wied Għollieqa valley and the unnecessary traffic deviations that would have increased air pollution in the area.

"The changes implemented by Transport Malta safeguard the natural environment as much as possible and accommodate the needs of all residents by re-routing traffic, lowering the flyover and adding sound barriers aimed at mitigating the effect of traffic noise on Kappara residents.

"These changes show that when active public participation is met with commitment and goodwill on the part of public authorities, solutions can be found which respect the natural environment, social needs and infrastructural requirements."

It said that in compensation for the unavoidable destruction of a number of trees, TM would carry out badly-needed works at Wied Għollieqa.

This contrasted sharply with the authority's tree management, whose tree expert was transferred to another department not related to trees in any way.

FAA said that wWhile the proposed works were aimed at improving the daily traffic jams at this junction, they would not do much to improve Malta’s overall traffic problem which would only be solved by a radical reduction in the number of cars on the road.

The priority now was to organise and improve public transport and make it more user-friendly.

"This will reduce the use of private cars, hence reducing air pollution and wasted man-hours.

"The case of the Kappara flyover shows that when civil society and the authorities work together much can be achieved. This needs to spread to all government sectors," FAA said.