Malta must be proactive rather than reactive in designing roads that incorporate speed calming measures

Malta must be proactive, rather than reactive, in designing roads that incorporate speed calming measures and account for human error, cycling NGO Rota has said.

In a statement reacting to comments by Ivan Falzon, the CEO of Infrastructure Malta, to The Times of Malta, Rota said that the Mrieħel bypass, previously consisting of two wide lanes, has been redesigned to include three lanes that are significantly narrower. Narrow lanes lead to slower speeds, Falzon said. “Drivers feel like they are in a funnel, and so drive more slowly.”

Rota said that two years ago, it had proposed an alternative road dieting plan for the Mrieħel bypass in response to Infrastructure Malta’s project of widening the bypass. “We opposed this plan, considering it unnecessary overkill (…) In our proposal, we suggested a road dieting approach that would have included a narrower bypass to cater a segregated active mobility route towards Attard, and simultaneously take advantage of the existing service road on the other side to facilitate a parallel slower route for easy access to any point in the industrial area. We wonder why this proposal hasn’t been considered. Dieting a road by narrowing lanes doesn’t mean adding more lanes for cars in the gained space. Visually, it maintains a similar appearance, if not worse, especially at night. The lack of proper segregation between lanes gives the illusion of a wider road, encouraging higher speeds.”

While narrowing the lanes might marginally improve safety for those inside vehicles, adding extra lanes in the space gained from a road diet is counter productive and worsens the safety experience for anyone else outside, Rota said. “Additionally, even today, there are no pedestrian crossings at the crossroads with Triq San Ġwakkin, which can reconnect Qormi village core directly through Mrieħel and under the aqueducts to Birkirkara, as once was until the bypass was built in the 1990s.”

There are several other locations that require immediate attention, such as the poorly designed bicycle lane in Mġarr, Rota said.

“Furthermore, there is a lack of direct crossings near the Luqa Airport junction. As a nation, we must be proactive, rather than reactive, in designing roads that incorporate speed calming measures and account for human error. Last year, we witnessed a record number of fatalities on our roads. Administrations and CEOs change over the years, however as an authority there should be continuity and responsibility. What actions are being taken to improve this situation? And more importantly, where are the Malta Road Safety Council and Transport Minister in all this?”