Flyovers are no solution

The first flyover in Malta was inaugurated in 1957 to alleviate traffic around the Portes des Bombes, Floriana. Ever since, we Maltese have continued to build a love-hate relationship with flyovers and wider roads.

But is that a viable and sustainable solution to the increasing traffic congestion we continue to experience on our roads from morning to evening?

Maltese keep choosing cars over other forms of transport because roads and flyovers are being built with no public modes of transport running on them. The more roads and flyovers are built, the more cars there will be to occupy them. It has been proven that adding roads and flyovers only works for a while before making it worse than before.

Car owners may be paying for the roads and flyovers, but we’re not paying for many of the other costs that are a result of us driving these cars: Air and sound pollution; the resulting health hazards; occupation of large areas of land with asphalt; alienating and ripping local communities apart; making walking a dangerous and uneasy mode of commute for many. And this is not to mention the thousands of euros spent on setting up road signage, cleaning up after accidents, manning traffic signals and maintaining roads and flyovers.

Some of our badly designed flyovers have the worst traffic. They simply shift the bottleneck and won’t work.

We need to think outside the box.

We must revolutionise our transport system and make it truly viable and efficient, along the lines of the transport systems in Amsterdam or Copenhagen. And we need to start breeding a generation of eco-minded commuters.

For as long as most Maltese can remember, the car has been the embodiment of the Maltese dream. But with so many cars and trucks on our roads, we have become slaves to this freedom. We urgently need to come up with a long-term vision and strategy to reverse the irreversible ravages of urban sprawl.

We can no longer continue building new communities in the same way we have over the last half century. The suburbs, while being an integral part of our nation’s maturation, contribute substantially to our problems of air and water pollution, increase our health risks and decrease our quality of life. Suburbia has trapped Maltese behind the wheels of their cars.

This nation and its citizens have been lulled into a false sense of security. We are blissfully unaware of the impending ramifications of continuing the patterns of growth that have locked us behind the wheels of our cars.

Like Emperor Nero, we are fiddling away, confident that tomorrow will be better than today. We don’t realise that with each new wide, long bypass, and with each new flyover, that promise slips further and further away.

Our government must understand that it can no longer encourage these patterns of growth by further investing in highway and utility infrastructures and must find viable alternatives by investing in public transit.

Things that can be done to come out of this mess include, controlling our population, introducing a high-speed and high-frequency public transport system and designing roads in such a way that cyclists can ride safely without fear. Regrettably, in this country, even enthusiastic cyclists avoid cycling because of rash drivers, no dedicated lanes and virtually no law to support them.

In addition to investing in public transit, promoting activities like walking and cycling is essential for creating healthier, more liveable cities. By designing pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, including dedicated bike lanes and safe sidewalks, we can encourage residents to embrace these sustainable modes of travel.

Congestion pricing schemes represent another innovative approach to managing traffic congestion and reduce emissions. These schemes can incentivise the use of alternative modes of transport and discourage unnecessary car trips. Revenue generated from congestion pricing can be reinvested into transportation infrastructure improvements and sustainable mobility initiatives.

Urban planning also plays an important role in influencing the future of transportation. By prioritising mixed-use developments and transit-orientated design, localities can create vibrant, walkable communities where residents can live and work near public transit options.

This not only reduces reliance on cars but also fosters more sustainable, resilient urban environments.

Transportation is the lifeblood of our country. This country requires bold policy interventions and innovative solutions that reimagine the way we move within and between localities.

All of this will determine what we leave for the next generation. It’s time we answered the wake-up call.