A new major road in Attard will only increase traffic congestion and pollution and solve no problems, Alternattiva Demokratika said on Saturday. 

The massive project linking to Buqana in Mosta and Mrieħel is another certificate for successive governments with no transport police, AD officials told a news conference. 

Read: Residential roads to make way for new Attard bypass

AD chairman Carmel Cacopardo said: "Traffic congestion is the effect and not the cause of the lack of sustainable mobility: it is the effect of negligence. The real issue is that we have created a society totally dependent on the private car."

The government's transport ‘policy’ will neutralise its own good measures, such as the subsidy for public transport, and the incentivisation of bicycles and electric bicycles.

James Gabarretta ADZ, Green Youth chairperson, said the needs of commuters who use bicycles and electric bicycles are continuously neglected.

Dangerous arterial roads should have dedicated bike lanes and not half baked infrastructure, he said.

Triq Oliver Agius, which will be widened by taking up adjacent agricultural land. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Ralph Cassar, AD councillor in Attard said Malta is crying out for low emission zones, large parts of roads reserved exclusively for public transportation including a Bus Rapid Transit System on arterial roads.

Malta needs integrated systems of transportation including more park and ride - something that does not need any long-term plans to implement. 

"Do you think these are just our ideas? Yes these are some of the proposals we have been insisting on, but they are also proposals made black on white in Transport Malta’s 2025 Transport Master Plan," Mr Cassar said.

The government should implement and invest in the measures mentioned in the master plan and stop "flushing hundreds of millions" of euros down the drain.

"Despite boasting of knowing how to take timely decisions, it is evident that when it comes to transport and sustainability the Prime Minister and the government prefer short-sighted populism. They are afraid to bell the cat and keep on passing the buck to future generations."