A MISCO survey published in this paper last week confirmed traffic to be the cause of great loss of time and high levels of frustration among commuters. Bjorn Bonello looks at ways to start solving the congestion nightmare.
It is not the number of cars on the road but the extent of their use that is causing so many problems. The number of cars may be associated with progressive economic wellbeing, having seen a relentless increase since the early 1990s, and with the lack of viable alternatives. The car gives us freedom to travel into the depths of our villages and out in the countryside with relative ease. The attempt to fit several activities and errands into a single day, particularly after work, makes the car the preferred mode of travel, and concepts such as carpooling cumbersome.
It is undeniable that most commuting journeys can be done by public transport but it is also true that the level of service is not homogenous throughout the island. The time taken to complete a journey varies and the number of activities one can fit in one’s busy schedule thus becomes limited.
While improvements have been made and mobile app technology has also helped plan journeys done by public transport, much more needs to be done to make sure that all parts of the island are adequately served, and the capacity of the system meets commuters’ needs.
Pragmatically, considering the multi-faceted characteristics of the transport network and the seemingly cultural abhorrence to public transport use, it would be simplistic to say that the use of an underground system, or of bicycles and motorcycles, would solve the problems. We don’t have the population numbers to support the former, and despite recent incentives to use motorcycles this is not seen as a viable option for many members of society.
The plan to tackle the time lost in congestion and the frustration resulting from car use has to be multipronged. It must have short-, medium- and long-term goals that are achievable. We have to first take stock of the situation in great detail. We can’t plan for such an important aspect of the economy and the viability of our cities and villages in a piecemeal fashion or based on assumptions.
All stakeholders, including all operators in the transport sector, distributors of goods, schools, major employers, competent authorities and parent associations, should be actively engaged in consultation. This should not be unnecessarily prolonged but should enable the gathering of as much information as possible to identify potential alternatives and streamlining of operations that have an impact on traffic.
An in-depth study in Gozo to learn all about the travel needs of Gozitans should be carried out. It is time to understand if it is true that the route from Ċirkewwa, through Mellieħa, St Paul’s Bay, Mosta and Birkirkara is an unnecessary 30 to 40-minute journey. Perhaps most Gozitans work, study or live in Swatar, Tal-Qroqq, Msida, Gżira, Sliema and Valletta. Understanding this may relieve many localities of unnecessary through traffic instead of fixating ourselves on a tunnel.
Although there is political consensus on the tunnel, this option may create more bottlenecks and peril due to potential accidents along the 10-kilometre straight stretch of underwater road, possibly causing frequent closures and disruptions. More importantly, it will still take traffic through parts of the island needlessly. It may be a better option to invest heavily in high-speed ferries, some of which can be passenger-only vessels that take people much quicker and closer to their destination, directly to Sliema, Msida or Valletta, also complementing other projects that link the different Grand Harbour areas.
The application of the polluter pays principle should be applied more often and consistently
We need to assess, in great detail, all the critical and important junctions in this archipelago and radically change our traffic management systems (signalled junctions), making them responsive to traffic demands during different times of the day. Unnecessary signalled junctions should be removed, or at the very least their timings and phasing adjusted.
Openings along arterial roads permitting life-threatening right-turns, multiple openings in service roads and other parochial afterthoughts or cavalier interventions on the road network should be stopped immediately and corrected.
A case in point that illustrates this very clearly is the Mrieħel Bypass. Situated near the newly installed pedestrian bridge – which seems more of an excuse to install mega-large billboards instead of much-needed variable messaging signs with information for motorists rather posing a distraction – lies an opening that allows traffic to turn right into the industrial estate. This was recently in the news as the spot where a young motorcyclist tragically lost his life. For many years, it has been a known accident black spot which is probably seen as very convenient for many motorists turning into the estate.
From my experience of the area and the number of studies conducted, this death trap should have long been closed off, and the signalled junction near the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) turned into a large, appropriately-sized roundabout, to allow flows to find gaps in traffic and move in an orderly manner without causing unnecessary delays.
It is these and many other targeted interventions, along all the network, that will ensure that at least we have a functioning canvas on which we can work.
I maintain that if we truly have ambitions for a metro-like system, we should have continuous bus lanes that would serve to assess how the road space can be better managed. Important bus corridors can be also used by cyclists and motorcyclists, giving them an advantage over cars and encouraging commuters to shift from their car, while making commuting with other modes safer, faster and more convenient.
Road safety should never be compromised. While some may say that bus lanes cause problems as a result of a reduction in road space available to the car, this is a small price to pay and is a simple way to convince motorists that the alternative may be quicker than the car after all.
In conjunction, major developments that attract people to them, such as commercial complexes and office development, should be located along these corridors and not spread out over the islands, making it virtually impossible to serve them adequately by public transport.
We need to target the extent of use of private cars, particularly single-occupant cars, which spend most of the day idle along streets and car parks. The application of the polluter pays principle should be applied more often and consistently.
Most importantly, there needs to be more information and education on how much the car is costing its user.
Targeting and reforming school transport is a very positive initiative, one that should be enforced and which should bring about improvements not only in the flow of traffic but also in the level of service given by operators.
In addition, a national parking strategy – a radical change in street parking management with the active involvement of local councils – needs to be implemented with urgency, and be professionally run and regularly audited. Schemes such as residents parking schemes and controlled vehicular access, and management of long-term and short-term parking, should be implemented as a result of in-depth studies. Such schemes should not then be altered and progressively dismantled in a parochial approach that would make them expensive to run and ultimately redundant.
Land use planning plays a major role here. Perhaps the lack of coherent approach through the years has greatly contributed to the situation we have today. The lax application of the Commuted Payment Parking Scheme (CPPS) and Urban Improvement Fund (UIF) through the decades has allowed developments to pay for massive shortage of parking without actually using those funds to develop strategic public car parks.
This increasing pressure on on-street parking, resulting in reduction of road capacity, greatly precludes initiatives for wider pedestrian footpaths, bus lanes and other positive alternatives.
Bjorn Bonello has a B.Sc Hons. in Environmental Planning (Birmingham, UK). He is an urban planning consultant with a specialisation in transport planning and has worked in the industry since 1995.