The transport watchdog has refuted criticism that changes at a traffic junction in Marsa caused an accident black spot, arguing the new arrangement eased the flow in Aldo Moro Road.
Transport Malta was contacted in view of complaints on the recently-introduced traffic arrangements on the Marsa-Ħamrun bypass.
The new arrangements give priority to vehicles driving from Aldo Moro Road to the bypass. This annoyed commuters heading that way from 13th December Road, who now have to give way.
They complained the angle at which the two slip roads converge did not sustain such an arrangement because visibility of the approaching traffic was poor and made the junction dangerous. Transport Malta said such concerns had been addressed because the junction was eventually fine-tuned by implementing a minor deflection at the give-way line. This was done to ensure that vehicles from 13th December Road approached the Marsa bypass at a slower speed.
“Unfortunately, some drivers were ignoring the deflection and were crossing over the hatching lines, thus creating a hazard for vehicles properly positioned at the give-way line,” a spokesman said.
The transport watchdog confirmed that traffic bollards were installed at one point in an attempt to address the problem but were removed soon after as they failed to have the desired effect.
The spokesman said that, prior to the changes, Transport Malta had carried out a traffic flow analysis, which showed that only four per cent of vehicles approached the bypass from 13th December Road.
At the same time, vehicles coming from Aldo Moro Road towards Valletta were experiencing delays due to the traffic congestion created at the foot of the uphill ramp joining the Marsa bypass. It was also observed that the cause of the congestion was due to the fact that vehicles needed to merge into one lane in a relatively short distance.
Following the implementation of the measure, traffic congestion at the footway of the uphill ramp was resolved, the spokesman said.
Last month, Transport Malta removed bollards at two Naxxar roundabouts, less than a week after they had been installed. The transport watchdog later admitted the arrangement, which had been introduced on trial basis, had failed to improve the traffic flow.