The Pieta bus lane project should be completed within the next two months, freeing one of the busiest roads in the country from 40 buses every hour, according to Transport Malta.
A speed camera will also be installed at traffic lights to make sure buses stay within the speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour.
Works that started this summer to convert the service lane along Marina Road into a bus lane are part of a wider project intended to reduce traffic congestion and improve the public transport system.
Called Modus, this EU co-founded project includes the new traffic lights on Mdina Road that manage traffic headed to Ta’ Qali and the new bus lane on Aldo Moro Street in Marsa.
Not flawed by any extraordinary hazards to pedestrians’ safety
The design of the project in Msida, prepared by architects and street design engineers from Transport Malta and Mepa, is a “shared space standard design” based on internationally recognised principles, a TM spokeswoman said.
Vehicles permitted to use the lane will be restricted to route buses, service vehicles and residents’ cars and a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour will be set.
The whole lane will be levelled out and there will no longer be an elevated pavement. A pedestrian railing will also be installed between a row of parking bays [under the trees] and the main carriageway of the road to ensure safety.
Since buses going towards Msida will now be taking the new lane, they will no longer hold up traffic on the main road when they stop for passengers.
According to figures provided by the Transport Ministry, 80 buses pass through the road in both directions every hour. The busiest routes are numbers 12 and 13, heading to Buġibba from Valletta and back.
The spokeswoman said the €1.3 million works are planned to be completed in November or December.
Once the Pieta bus lane is finished similar roadworks will start on the opposite side of the same stretch of road.
The works have in the past months raised safety concerns as buses will be passing close to houses.
The Ombudsman had even recommended stopping the project and changing the design to one that better ensures residents’ wellbeing.
The original plans for the bus lane included removing a row of trees to allow for more space between buses and buildings, but the planning authority rejected this proposal.
The transport authority insists the project has been designed to achieve the proposals outlined in the EU-funded project.
Yesterday the spokeswoman reiterated that TM does not feel it is “flawed by any extraordinary hazards to pedestrians’ safety”.
However it intends to take “all other additional safety measures” that can further address concerns about pedestrian safety.
One of these is a speed camera for buses. This is not like a normal speed camera but will be integrated in the traffic lights.
“The project is a key tool in the efforts being made to address the traffic management problems encountered in the road to Valletta and Floriana through Msida and the success of the project is in line with government’s national transport strategy to develop traffic mobility,” she said.