Every year, around the third week of September, people all over the world get together in streets, at intersections and on neighbourhood blocks to celebrating public space and remind the world of the alternatives to a car-dominated society.
Last week’s car-free day activities overlapped with European mobility week, which was themed ‘Our Streets, Our Choice’. Activities included fostering sustainable efficient transport and coaxing people to try leaving their car at home, or at least go electric.
The World Car-free Network, a focal point for organisers worldwide, views the annual event as a showcase for how cities might look, feel, sound and smell without cars 365 days a year. The network aims for more than a single day of celebration, aspiring to go beyond a return to ‘normal’ after the event.
Permanent measures are advocated. It is up to us, our cities and governments to help create permanent change to benefit pedestrians, cyclists and other people who choose not to drive cars.
This year, Cospicua, Mqabba and Naxxar opted to hold in-town-without-my-car events intended to get people out of their cars by setting aside one or several areas reserved solely for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport for at least one whole day. (It did seem contradictory to ban buses from the church square in Mqabba this year when the idea was to promote public transport.)
Ideally, although not always possible, permanent measures should be adopted, such as allocating road space in favour of walking, cycling or travelling by bus, including road closures, wider pavements, new cycle or bus lanes, new traffic calming schemes or lower speed limits. An athema to the spirit of the initiative would be removing an already existing pedestrian area, an idea that has been touted in the Sliema area to the chagrin of all who care about their urban environment.
Putting up some long-awaited bus shelters at the Ferries terminus area would not have gone amiss as part of the initiatives surrounding the event.
Added to which, the removal of the 10 very dead tamarisks in wooden planters would go a long way toward improving the pedestrian experience at Qui-Si-Sana.
Valletta also took part again this year although it is disappointing to see the number of participating localities decline in recent years due to poor support. The number has been shaved down to ‘winning’ local councils as they are pitted against each other to come up with the best five proposals in a competition for sponsorship.
Always active in car-free events of formers years, Attard local council reluctantly announced it was pulling out of this year’s activities. Councillor Ralph Cassar cited paltry funding and short notice, being notified barely a week ahead of the day that the council’s proposal was among the top five and had the go-ahead from Transport Malta:
“This is the way councils and councillors are treated in this country. They are expected to bend over backwards to make things happen. We barely managed last year, went over budget and ended up informing residents at the last minute because of the tight schedule, with all the grumbling and moaning by those who see the car as an extension of their bodies and cannot stomach a short walk to church on Sunday.
“As regards sustainable mobility,” continued Cassar, “there is a complete lack of cooperation when it comes to new concepts such as pedestrian priority zones (also known as ‘home zones’) basically shot down by Transport Malta around two years ago. It also seems Transport Malta is dragging its feet when it comes to introducing the concept of ‘sharrows’ – shared lane markings – to indicate that the streets are also there for other users, in this case cyclists. It’s really exasperating; sometimes one just feels like giving up.”
Attard was one of the first to close off the entire village core to traffic for use only by pedestrians for the annual event. Hopefully the village will be back next year if local councils are given more time to prepare and authorities become more receptive to progress in the field of alternatives.
To their credit, one of the four NGOs taking part in the awareness campaign, Bicycle Advocacy Group, organised events to identify three potential bike routes to provide safety for cyclists when sharing the roads with motorists.
Three electric bicycles of the type which engage when the rider is pedalling were given away by lottery. Pedelecs of this type are useful for people riding in hilly areas or in strong headwinds. In normal conditions cyclists may not choose to switch from their pedal bike in preference for the exercise factor which has to be kept in mind.
As charity rides go, the Malta National Bicycle Ride is a valid car-free day event. Hopefully it has gone beyond the competitive scope to promote getting people from one place to another in the course of their daily lives – to work, school, and the shops.
A Swedish study has shown that after the introduction of traffic congestion charges in central Stockholm, car owners were more likely to adopt environment-friendly behaviours across the board. Not only did they think about using alternative ways to get around but they were also more likely to use heating and water sparingly and switch off lights when not needed. The study concluded that increasing awareness of the need to reduce car use had an even wider effect on the environment than expected.
Over the past decade or more, European mobility week has expanded on the idea of a car-free day to incorporate concepts such as intelligent transport systems (ITS) for managing better traffic flows. In Malta we are seeing a major push with a local action plan for better, more efficient transport, coupled with better road safety.
Unlocking the full potential of computerised systems for traffic and creating the momentum necessary to speed up market penetration of ITS applications are among the aims.
An action plan for ITS aims to shift people and goods around the European road network safely, seamlessly, efficiently and sustainably while interfacing with the other transport modes and improving the competitiveness of European industry.
It may be worth asking if we are straying from our original aim of reducing cars and car use while tipping the focus onto how traffic is managed. Electric cars, while useful for reducing traffic fumes in towns, can really only be referred to as ‘green’ if batteries are charged by renewable energies such as solar.
Sustainable urban mobility plans (Sumps) are to be developed over the next three years. This new way of planning should be asking people to imagine what they would like their town or village to look like in 20 years’ time. A place where children can play safely, the air is clean and people can walk to do their shopping?
Local councils will compete to identify Sumps initiatives on better use of public spaces, a shift to different modes of transport, improved accessibility, more safety for all on the roads and improvement of air quality, climate change and energy efficiency. €50,000 will be awarded to the local council submitting the best plan which will help car-free day and mobility week measures gain a more permanent foothold in future.