Sliema residents’ group urges council to take air quality deterioration seriously

“The present air monitoring technology – the sorbent tube exposure type – used within most localities does not give real time air monitoring results and consequently no timely action to mitigate high concentrations of pollutants is being taken,” the SRA said.

Based on past performance and experience, and in view of the fact that more than six months have passed since the publication of the revised Air Quality Plan for the Maltese Islands (Jan 2010), SRA expressed its doubt on MEPA’s and Transport Malta’s abilities to meet the targets and time frames set in this Air Quality Plan.

“These include short-term measures which should be implemented immediately (by the end of 2010) once approved and subjected to budgetary allocation where this is required. The Plan also proposes medium-term measures which should be implemented, once the appropriate planning and funding is dedicated to each and every measure. The beginning of 2010 should have been dedicated to the planning of those measures while implementation should have started later on this year to produce the required results by mid-2011,” the SRA said.

The Air Quality Plan envisages traffic measures aimed at achieving a reduction in vehicle emissions including encouraging modal shift, the reduction of traffic impact from new developments, managing the road network and promote cleaner vehicle technologies.

But the SRA says it still has not yet seen any tangible measures aimed at improving Sliema’s traffic problems such that until May, air pollution levels did not improve but still exceeded EU safeguard levels.

“Air quality in Sliema is deteriorating mainly due to the densely built urban development, high population density, the increase of commercial and leisure outlets and a corresponding high volume of motor vehicle traffic. This predicament is compounded by the Sliema roads infrastructure with adjoining high buildings which give rise to the ‘canyon effect’ whereby polluted air takes longer to disperse out of residential areas,” SRA said.

The SRA is suggesting that the funding of the present monitoring programme could be partly shifted into investing in real time air quality analysers. SRA has already submitted its proposal for real time air quality analysers, which are available on the local market, to the Sliema local council last January.

“However it appears that for the latter, ‘fairy lights’ are more important than the residents health and quality of life. SRA is urging MEPA, Transport Malta and the Sliema local council to take the much necessary and long overdue traffic management measures to safeguard Sliema residents’ health and quality of life.”