An underground mass transport system must be urgently considered, since traffic congestion could undermine efforts to attract investors, according to developer Sandro Chetcuti.
The head of the Malta Developers’ Association said the government should issue a call for expressions of interest to determine whether there was interest from the private sector.
“Traffic problems could undermine economic progress in a few years’ time, which is why studies are needed to understand what it would take to make an underground system viable,” he told the Times of Malta.
Traffic congestion is likely to get worse in two weeks’, when schools re-open and government workers return to full days.
But traffic has progressively worsened beyond the peak morning and afternoon rush hours, as the road network is becoming unsuitable for the number of cars. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has floated the possibility of looking at road tunnels criss-crossing the island to ease traffic congestion, but Mr Chetcuti believes this would be costly and not solve the problem for the long term.
In 2008, then transport minister Austin Gatt said a metro system needed 50,000 passengers an hour to be viable.
Studies are needed to understand what it would take to make an underground system viable
This was deemed impossible for a country Malta’s size. Dr Gatt said during discussions on reforms of the public transport system that both a metro and tram service had been deemed unfeasible.
But Mr Chetcuti insists the government should not be bound by eight-year-old studies.
When the previous administration wanted to develop the White Rocks area into a sports village, he said by way of example, it adopted the model of allowing the developer to build luxury apartments on one area of the site.
The project never materialised, but Mr Chetcuti said the apartments would have been the commercially viable part to make the sports facilities worthwhile for the private investor to build.
“There are ways and means of making a project feasible, and one such way is by allowing the company building the network to develop underground commercial facilities,” he said.
But it was not just about making ends meet. Transport was vital for continued economic progress and to ensure a good quality of life, he added.
Mr Chetcuti said other options could be considered to encourage people to shift away from using their car every day.
“Motorists can be given financial incentives to use their private cars only on the weekend,” he said. Another solution he proposed was dedicated two-wheeler lanes to be used by bicycles and low-powered motorbikes.
“These will be safe passages, specifically designed to be used only by bicycles and motorbikes, and will not be simply a cycle lane on the side of a main artery,” he said, adding experts could study the best routes for such lanes.
Mr Chetcuti said that when Smart City was conceived, the government promised a new road that was to pass through private property. “Although this road seems to have been shelved, it shows that, where there is will, a way can always be found, and similarly, I believe dedicated cycle lanes could be created.”
His transport vision also includes the pedestrianisation of village cores. Parking could be at the perimeter of the village, and electric cabs would shuttle residents and visitors to and fro.
Mr Chetcuti believes such a system will help foster a generation of people who rediscover walking, since the pedestrian areas will be safe for everyone.
“It may come as a culture shock, but it will sink in, just as the notion of not smoking in restaurants and bars was gradually accepted over the years,” he said.