“Dreadful” Maltese roads discourage bicycle use and walking, says an online petition calling on viable alternatives to driving.

The petition, started by Vittoriosa resident Peter Biczok, said the public was effectively being “forced” to use cars due to the bad roads. Noting that the short distances in Malta actually made it ideal for cycling and walking, Mr Biczok said people were instead being forced to waste valuable time stuck in traffic or driving around looking for parking.

The petition calls on Transport Malta to follow the model used in the majority of European cities through modernising the local transport network. It says that Transport Malta should look at boosting walkability and access to public transport, improve transport planning and shift away from car-centric policies.

Maltese roads rank as the second worst in the EU, according to a European Commission survey which measured performance in key transport sectors. Still, the island continues to have the safest roads among the member states.

The Bicycling Advocacy Group (BAG) said yesterday in a statement that it supported the petition and called on the government to help scale back car use.

Official figures showed that 38 extra cars enter circulation every day, meaning that 66.5 kilometres of extra parking spaces had to be found in 2016, BAG said.

The group said getting potential car drivers to delay buying a car could provide vital breathing space for all road users. It said the scaling back of car use was largely voluntary, without any government assistance.

The group argued that far more had to be done to promote bus use, cycling and walking.

The group pointed out that ultimately, such measures benefitted existing car drivers too, by creating more space from what is currently available.

The group also welcomed Transport Malta’s recent move to grant free bus trips to 18 year olds in 2017 as a good way to encourage teens to put off buying a car for as long as possible.

The petition can be found by clicking here.