Thousands are contesting the planned upgrade of what is known as ‘Rabat Road’, which will see a number of mature trees uprooted to make way for new tarmac.
On Saturday, the Times of Malta revealed that according to Transport Malta’s plans, nearly 200 mature trees must be removed to make way for a €55 million project, called Central Link, that seeks to ease traffic congestion.
The news sparked anger on social media, with many lambasting the plans.
In a statement, the Transport Ministry said the majority of trees are to remain in place in a central strip. In cases where the removal of trees is necessary to ensure that the new roads are safer, they will be “replanted in other places”, while new trees will be planted in places where they are removed.
The project would improve the entire route between the Mriehel bypass and Saqqajja Hill roundabout, it stressed
This did not seem to be enough to ease concerns, though, with a petition uploaded online on Saturday drawing over 1,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. By lunchtime on Sunday, the petition was nearing 2,500 signatures.
The author of the petition, Catherine Mercieca, said she was left “seeing red” over the plans to uproot the trees.
“I feel as though everything is going in the wrong direction,” she told The Sunday Times of Malta.
Rather than tackling traffic congestion to make room for more trees, trees are being chopped down to make room for more traffic, Ms Mercieca lamented, adding there were no political motivations behind the petition.
“I do not want this to be politicised – this is a purely environmental concern,” she said.
The lack of appreciation for the environment led to people being disconnected from nature, the Rabat resident noted.
“Through this petition, we want to show our utter disgust at the way construction and roadworks are taking over any environmental concerns on our island,” the petition reads. “Every day trees are being chopped down at an alarming rate to make way for new roads or more construction. It is obvious that this is neither acceptable nor sustainable.”
Trees are chopped down to make room for traffic, but we should tackle congestion
Friends of the Earth Malta also expressed outrage and asked whether the country needed more roads. “The gamble our elected officials are taking will possibly pay off in the short term, but in the long run this will end up the same way as the waste problem – a mad scramble to sort the mess out when it is almost too late.”
The proposals also drew ire from environmental NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa, which insisted the “monumental trees are worthy of preservation”.
The trees “form part of Malta’s heritage and should be protected at all costs”. Din l-Art Ħelwa warned against the irreversible loss of the scenic roads which have characterised our islands for decades.
The creation of “highways” to replace narrower roads had negative consequences both for the landscape and the environmental conditions of the area, the environmental NGO said.
Din l-Art Ħelwa called for a long-term strategy for traffic mitigation, such as the introduction of a mass transport system, rather than a short-term reaction to the increase in cars on the road.
A spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry insisted that the project on Rabat Road would “seek to address traffic and congestion while upgrading the road infrastructure”.
The trees in the area would be “safeguarded”, as they would now be placed within a central strip, the ministry spokeswoman said, insisting that the majority of the trees currently planted in Rabat Road would stay in place.
An additional 212 trees would also be planted, the Transport Ministry added.
“We must remember that these projects always go through the normal stages of any application, and as such they are discussed thoroughly with the concerned authorities,” the spokeswoman said.