Ambitious plans to close arterial roads to traffic and conduct air quality tests on Sunday for Car-Free Day have been shelved.
It had also been suggested that Arriva might offer subsidised rates on the day
“This year’s campaign will focus heavily on initiatives within localities rather than arterial road closures,” a spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat for the Environment said.
The announcement is a significant retreat from the original proposal announced in June, when the original public tender to hold the activity spoke of major and arterial roads in Malta and Gozo being closed to all private vehicles between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. It also involved the Malta Environment and Planning Authority monitoring air quality at the closed roads and displaying real-time data on its website. It had also been suggested that Arriva might offer subsidised rates on the day.
But plans have been changed and, instead, Car-Free Day will now be marked through activities in eight towns and villages in Malta and Gozo – three more than the original plan, which had said five activity proposals would be financed.
In its response to a series of questions on the change of plans, the Environment Parliamentary Secretariat suggested that the new programme of activities would make Car-Free Day “better equipped to raise awareness about using alternative modes of transportation.”
Activities will be held in Birkirkara, Ħamrun, Kalkara, Mellieħa, Mġarr (Malta), Nadur, Sta Luċija and Victoria. There will also be a charity cycle from Marsascala to Sliema.The events are being organised by local councils and a number of NGOs following a call for proposals issued by the inter-ministerial committee appointed to coordinate the event. The eight were chosen from 20 submitted proposals.
The activities, which range from cycling tours of Sta Lucija to free Segway rides in Birkirkara and street football in Victoria and Mellieħa, will take place on Sunday in the respective town centres. Details on the activities can be obtained from the local councils.
Although Malta will be marking the event this coming Sunday, World Car-Free Day actually falls on September 22.
Asked why the event will be held earlier in Malta, an Environment Secretariat spokesman said that within the EU, Car-Free Day formed part of European Mobility Week, which runs from September 16 to 22 annually.
A number of towns across the EU celebrate Car-Free Day on different days throughout this week.