The Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Ian Borg, made ludicrous and unfounded comments about cycling in Malta (‘The country has chosen to grow’, The Sunday Times of Malta, February 3).

The Bicycle Advocacy Group felt that these comments actually discourage the use of bicycles in Malta. We are determined to replicate the success of other cities around the world that promoted active transport in favour of a car-centric policy.

Here we are dissecting some of the claims being made and addressing them in a rational (rather than opinionated) manner:

“I do not think it is true that widening roads just brings more cars.”

This is not an issue whether one ‘thinks’ it’s not true that road-widening brings more cars. It is a scientifically researched fact, and also comes with its own name: Induced demand. The widening of roads will only bring about more cars. Over time, the short-term ‘benefits’ of increasing road capacity will be lost.

In their paper ‘The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion: Evidence from US cities’, Duranton and Turner found a correlation between increasing road capacity and the growth in traffic congestion.

“The way to do that is positive measures to encourage people to use other meansof transport.”

To encourage the use of other means of transport, we must first provide an adequate infrastructure to encourage such use. To date, the authorities have failed to provide ready-to-use cycling infrastructure that would make cyclo-commuting safe. Moreover, one cannot provide incentives without providing disincentives. Every city that enjoys an increase in the uptake of alternative means of transport has done so by providing disincentives for car use. The way the government is building roads that cater solely for cars is eating away at the freedom of choice of the people, who often find themselves in situations where using a bus takes too long and cycling and walking is too dangerous.

“I do not think the criticism is always valid, especially as there have been projects where we are criticised for increasing cycle lines [sic]”.

For a cycle lane to be good it has to lead from one village to another. Increasing its length is not sufficient if it is still dangerous to use and access. This is where the authorities are failing miserably. While we are now witnessing the mention of cycling infrastructure in every project, in order to shun criticism, this infrastructure makes it more difficult for people who already cycle to keep on doing so safely, let alone to encourage others to shift from their vehicles to active means of transport.

A case in point is the horrendous ‘cycling infrastructure’ in Triq Mdina, Żebbuġ. No country or city ever provided such infrastructure where cars drive at high speeds next to a person cycling at 15km/h.

Hence, yes, the criticism is always valid, since this infrastructure is being built by people who have no experience in cycling. People who cycle have an entitlement to do so safely, and failing to be critical of unsafe or mediocre infrastructure would indeed be irresponsible from their end.

“Not everyone is ready or able to travel by bike. We should help the portion of the population willing to do so, but we cannot fool ourselves into thinking Malta will ever be Amsterdam. We are not Amsterdam, in climate, culture or geography. How can you expect the most obese nation in Europe to cycle in 35 degree weather?”

The cycling community in Malta has never claimed that everyone must travel by bike. Most commuter cyclists own cars but they only use them when there is no other way. It has now become even more difficult for current cyclists to keep on cycling, because of increasingly dangerous infrastructure, and such an attitude will definitely not encourage other commuters to switch to cycling, at least for some of their trips.

 In a country which is struggling with obesity, congestion and a population that is not too keen to be physically fit, we would expect our politicians to adopt a more proactive attitude in addressing these issues, rather than throwing in the towel and patting people on their back for gorging themselves with pastizzi and driving even very short distances in their private vehicles.

The Amsterdam we know today was quite different in the 1960s. Back then, they were also talking about building massive highways and flyovers, but common sense and political will eventually prevailed. Thousands of cities have since then followed.

Slowly but surely, by promoting cycling, we would not only be solving traffic congestion but our chronic health problems as well – a win-win situation for all. This would also save the country a lot of money on healthcare expenditure and improve our productivity as a country.

Obesity is being fuelled by our overdependence on private car use, and this is a problem that needs to be tackled, not a cultural trait that is celebrated. Malta again has chosen to grow its waistline.

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