AD accuses government of ignoring its own Transport Master Plan

Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday accused the government of ignoring its own Transport Master Plan, during a press conference in Attard at the spot where the government wants to build another arterial road.

Speakers from Alternattiva Demokratika stressed that the massive project combined with that of Buqana in Mosta, going up to Mriehel will not solve anything. It argues that, on the contrary, it will increase traffic, car usage, congestion and pollution and that, in a few years, congestion will be much worse than today.

AD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said: “Traffic congestion is the effect and not the cause of the lack of sustainable mobility: it is the effect of negligence – negligence in transport policy accumulated over years and years of governments who had no vision and no idea of long-term planning. The real issue is that we have created a society totally dependent on the private car. Building more roads for cars on limited land will not resolve anything: it will just postpone the problem, which will be passed on to future generations. Only, the problem will be much worse and more serious than today. Government’s transport policy will continue to give more space to the car. It will neutralise government’s own good measures, such as the subsidy for public transport, the incentivising of bicycles and electric bicycles among others and the grants to create facilities at the workplace (such as showers) for who use the bike to go to work. It should also be noted that, unfortunately, the spending on roads for cars is huge compared to that on measures to encourage sustainable mobility.”

ADZ Green Youth Chairperson James Gabarretta, who makes regular use of his bike, spoke about the lack of road facilities for clean and alternative transport. “It does not make sense that, in this mad race to widen roads, the needs of commuters who use bicycles and electric bicycles are continuously neglected. Anyone who decides to use a bike is freeing up more road space for public transport and those who have to use their car, while helping to reduce congestion and pollution. Dangerous arterial roads should have dedicated bicycle lanes and not half-baked infrastructure.”

Ralph Cassar, AD local councillor in Attard and the party’s spokesperson on energy, infrastructure and transport, said that the Government and its agencies, particularly Transport Malta and the Roads Agency is basing its so-called solutions on the premise that road construction and the adding of lanes is a solution. “This is simply not true. Government is perpetuating the mentality of its predecessors and offers no vision except the populist vision of more roads and more cars. Where is the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) pushed by the European Commission? Nowhere. We need low-emission zones and large parts of roads reserved exclusively for public transport – including a Bus Rapid Transit System on arterial roads. We need integrated systems of transportation including more park and ride – something that does not need any long-term plans to implement. There is a need for proper cycle lanes along arterial roads connecting localities, not more and more space for speeding cars.

“Do you think these are just our ideas?”, Cassar asked. “Yes, these are some of the proposals we have been insisting on, but they are also proposals made in black and white in Transport Malta’s 2025 Transport Master Plan. Transport Malta and the Government publish reports and plans but then completely ignore them. The Government should invest in and implement the measures mentioned in the Master Plan and stop pouring 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.”