World Bicycle Day
Cyclists paid tribute yesterday morning to a Serbian man who was killed after being run over by a car while he was cycling on Regional Road early on Friday.
Yesterday marked World Bicycle Day, the first celebration of this kind, with bicycle enthusiasts and commuters embarking on an 18km ride from Mosta to Msida and back.
The first stop was at Kappara, where flowers were placed at the spot where Zoran Pavlovic lost his life. Flowers were placed near a ghost bike (a bicycle painted white as a remembrance of the victim) at the spot of the accident.
The second stop was at Msida waterfront where the cyclists greeted President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and explained to her some of the difficulties they encounter when they use the bicycle, because of poorly designed infrastructure and careless driving.
The President pledged her support and her role as mediator with the authorities, and referred to the cyclists as true activists for taking a very active role in combatting the harmful levels of carbon emissions and reducing traffic.
Maltese cyclists, a minority of people whose numbers are growing due to the worsening gridlock traffic, have been lobbying for authorities to give pedestrians and cyclists more priority.
Bicycle lane provisions and bicycle facilities on the island are traditionally scarce despite growing awareness. As the country’s air pollution is worryingly on the rise, traffic is worsening, the population growing and the country being one of the most overweight in Europe, many argue that a push at government level to improve facilities makes logical sense, especially with sustainability goals in mind.
Cyclists also complain of Malta’s roads being too dangerous, with often inadequate bicycle lanes, to drivers who do not respect those lanes or make any attempt to keep a safe distance from the bicycle commuters.