The Pietà bus lane project should be stopped and Transport Malta should submit a planning application for a design that better ensures residents’ health and well-being, the Ombudsman’s Office is recommending.

The original plans for the bus lane included removing a row of trees, allowing for more space between buses and buildings.

But when the Malta Environment and Planning Authority did not allow the removal of the trees, Transport Malta “took the easy way out it kept the trees leading to a narrower lane that had to be shared by buses, cars, pedestrians and residents’ on-street parking.

While Transport Malta does not appear to have acted outside the law... it did, however, act inconsiderately and insensitively

This solution affected residents’ quality of life and jeopardised the efficiency of the project itself, David Pace, the Ombudsman’s Commissioner for Environment and Planning, said.

He added that Transport Malta could have insisted on implementing the original plan by applying for a full development permit. “After all, Mepa found no objection to permitting Transport Malta to uproot hundreds of trees in connection with the Coast Road’s upgrading project,” he said.

By not applying for a Mepa permit, residents were deprived of their fundamental right to be informed of the project and present their case against it.

Works started this summer to convert the service road along Triq Ix-Xatt into a bus lane. Buses driving along the Pietà seafront, in the direction of Msida, will use the lane leading to the Msida bus stop.

In May, before the works started, Times of Malta published a story voicing the complaints of residents who were concerned about their safety as buses would be passing very close to their homes, among other things.

Since then, resident Marcus Muscat-Baron lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman.

Transport Malta insisted all was in line with the law and that all necessary precautions were taken to ensure safety for residents. It argued that the project was based on a “shared space concept” that meant buses, cars and pedestrians used the same space.

The Ombudsman heard that when the original application was submitted, a development notification order (DNO) was invoked to remove the line of trees. However, in July 2012, Mepa objected to removing the trees. As a result, Transport Malta changed the plans leaving the trees there and using the existing service road as the bus lane.

Now that no trees were to be removed and no changes were made to the road alignment, the transport regulator did not need a DNO, so it went ahead with the revised plans.

“While Transport Malta does not appear to have acted outside the law... it did, however, act inconsiderately and insensitively to the detriment of the residents’ health and well-being by not using all alternative Mepa application procedures at its disposal to obtain approval for the initial concept to be implemented,” Mr Pace said.

Apart from being detrimental to residents’ quality of life, the decision impacted on the efficiency of the EU-funded project. On paper, the lane was meant to be reserved for buses, residents and vehicles servicing commercial outlets there. The plans did not factor in relatives and friends of residents, customers visiting the commercial outlets and motorists’ temptation to use the lane to cut through traffic. Mr Pace also noted that, according to the EU funding agreement, changes in design were meant to be communicated to the Office of the Prime Minister’s planning and priorities coordination division as the managing authority.

Such notification did not happen, raising “serious doubts as to whether the proper procedure was followed” since a revised decision could change the contract value.

“Although the project is being implemented and there was no breach in procedure with regard to permits, the project should be halted and a suitable alternative design sought. A full development application should be submitted to Mepa to seek approval of the original design,” Mr Pace said.