Many years ago, the late Gerald Degeatano, then the Bicycle Advocacy Group’s cycling ambassador for Sliema, and I met transport representatives in the hope of placing sharrows on Tower Road.

Not favoured by cyclists - we had dismissed all other lane and path options - sharrows encourage errant riders off the promenade and designate a notion of carriageway space, where cyclists should be.

Our transport watchdog protagonist was a young woman, the architect in charge being ‘unavailable’ and I suspect probably too embarrassed to face us, who explained that sharrows were not possible because it might slow traffic down. Both Gerald and I nearly fell through the floor. The priority for them, then and now, was shuffling metal boxes along. The safety of adult or child cyclists was secondary and best described as helmets, hi viz and ‘hope for the best’.

There was hope. To his credit, former minister Joseph Mizzi had promised to double cycling annually but things quickly got back to box shuffling. Sure, there’s been a little short-term traffic easing, on safer (if only there had been a cycle lane on the other side of Kappara) roads for everyone, basically creating a Hobson’s choice of ‘good luck junctions’ for people on bikes. That’s because the government’s national cycling strategy, ready under Mizzi, is still just that - a hope and about as useful as a cycle lane that starts, ends and goes nowhere.

Do we just hope in the next decade people will switch to the fabled metro? Hope that drivers will voluntarily give up their car in some grand altruistic gesture, buying a metro ticket instead? And how will they get there?

We can no longer muddle through and hope for the best. Our commitment to alternative transport such as walking or cycling must be both effective and immediate, not just ‘bikewash’, if we want a better future.