On Friday 17 February, activists from Moviment Graffitti, Friends of the Earth Malta and Rota unfolded a banner on Mġarr Road (Triq Sir Temi Żammit), asking: “Why are our roads deadly?” This follows a record year of road deaths, with 26 victims in 2022.
Last weekend, a cyclist was injured at the site of this morning’s action: on the country’s narrowest bicycle lane. Its design had been flagged as unsafe by Rota and local transport experts following its inauguration over two years ago. This week, Moviment Graffitti, Friends of the Earth Malta, and Rota sent an open letter to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Dr Aaron Farrugia; the CEO of Transport Malta, Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi; and the CEO of Infrastructure Malta, Mr Ivan Falzon. The organisations are demanding that political responsibility be shouldered for their failure to keep cyclists safe, calling for the road to be urgently redone in accordance with international best practices. Dr Farrugia, Brigadier Curmi, and Mr Falzon have not responded to these demands so far.
At present, the government is touting their new Road Safety Plan, entitled ‘Towards Safer Transport in Malta’, which focuses on investigating road safety. However, they are completely glancing over the importance of road design for the safety of different road users, in particular vulnerable ones such as pedestrians and cyclists (and including children, the elderly and people with disabilities). One thing they do correctly identify in the document is that “human error is no longer seen as a cause of accidents but a consequence of deeper systemic issue [sic]” (p. 12). Designing and investing in roads solely to optimise traffic flow and speed is one such systemic issue. Roads should be efficient and safe for all users, regardless of means of transport or potential human error. The most effective way to achieve this is by making roads narrower, including traffic calming measures, maintaining proper enforcement, and separating road users in areas where vehicles move at higher speeds.
The spending of millions upon millions on roads in the past years has neither solved Malta’s congestion problem, nor led to ‘safer roads’ as promised. Accordingly, the need to prioritise real sustainable modes of transport and safety for vulnerable road users has become obvious. To achieve this, the government must urgently establish national standards and guidelines for road infrastructure of all kinds, including pavements, cycling infrastructure and shared streets. This effort should draw on international standards and include a revision of the legal framework to improve protection for vulnerable road users. It is clearly not enough to slap on some green paint and hope for the best.
Following the deafening silence in response to our open letter to the Transport Minister and CEOs of Infrastructure Malta and Transport Malta, we ask once again: who will take responsibility for these road crashes and deaths by design? The organisations believe that if the people at the helm of the relevant authorities remain inactive on this issue, then they are not fit for purpose and should resign.
Nhar il-Ġimgħa 17 ta’ Frar, attivisti mill-Moviment Graffitti, Friends of the Earth Malta u Rota ħarġu banner fi Triq l-Imġarr (Triq Sir Temi Żammit), fejn staqsew: “Għaliex għandna toroq qattiela?” (“Why are our roads deadly?”). Dan wara sena rekord ta’ mwiet fit-toroq, b’26 vittma fl-2022.
Fi tmiem il-ġimgħa li għaddiet, ċiklist weġġa’ gravi fil-post tal-azzjoni ta’ dalgħodu: fuq l-iktar korsija tar-roti dejqa fil-pajjiż. Id-disinn tagħha kien ġie identifikat bħala wieħed perikoluż mill-organizzazzjoni Rota u l-esperti lokali tat-trasport, wara l-inawgurazzjoni tagħha aktar minn sentejn ilu. Dil-ġimgħa, Moviment Graffitti, Friends of the Earth Malta, u Rota bagħtu ittra miftuħa lill-Ministru għat-Trasport, l-Infrastruttura u Proġetti Kapitali, Dr Aaron Farrugia; lill-Kap Eżekuttiv ta’ Transport Malta, il-Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi; u lill-Kap Eżekuttiv ta’ Infrastructure Malta, is-Sur Ivan Falzon. L-organizzazzjonijiet qed jitolbu li tintrefa’ r-responsabbiltà politika wara li fallew milli jżommu liċ-ċiklisti sikuri. Qed jitolbu wkoll sabiex it-triq terġa’ ssir b’mod urġenti u skont l-aħjar prattiċi internazzjonali. Dr Farrugia, il-Brigadier Curmi, and s-Sur Falzon għadhom ma tawx risposta għal dat-talbiet s’issa.
Bħalissa, il-gvern qed jimbotta pjan ġdid għas-sigurtà fit-toroq, bit-titlu ‘Towards Safer Transport in Malta’, li jiffoka fuq l-investigazzjoni tas-sigurtà fit-toroq. Però, il-gvern mhuwiex qed jagħti importanza lid-disinn tat-toroq mill-aspett tas-sigurtà tal-utenti kollha, b’mod partikolari dawk vulnerabbli bħall-persuni bil-mixi u ċ-ċiklisti (inklużi tfal, anzjani u persuni b’diżabilità). Madanakollu, jidentifikaw b’mod korrett fid-dokument li “l-iżball uman m’għadux jitqies il-kawża tal-inċidenti iżda l-konsegwenza ta’ kwistjonijiet sistemiċi iżjed profondi” [“human error is no longer seen as a cause of accidents but a consequence of deeper systemic issue (sic)”] (p. 12). Li wieħed jiddisinja u jinvesti fit-toroq sempliċiment biex jottimizza l-fluss tat-traffiku u l-veloċità, hija waħda minn dawn il-kwistjonijiet sistemiċi. It-toroq għandhom ikunu effiċjenti u sikuri għall-utenti kollha, irrispettivament mill-mezzi tat-trasport jew żbalji umani li jistgħu jseħħu. L-aktar mod effettiv biex jinkiseb dan huwa billi t-toroq jidjiequ, jiġu inklużi miżuri għall-ikkalmar tat-traffiku, jinżamm infurzar xieraq, u jinżammu separati l-utenti tat-triq f’żoni fejn il-vetturi jgħaddu b’veloċità ogħla.
L-infieq ta’ miljuni kbar fit-toroq fis-snin li għaddew la solva l-problema tal-konġestjoni f’Malta, u wisq anqas ma wassal għal ‘toroq aktar sikuri’ kif kien imwiegħed. Għaldaqstant, il-ħtieġa li tingħata prijorità lill-forom tat-trasport li huma verament sostenibbli u lis-sikurezza tal-utenti vulnerabbli tat-toroq saret ovvja. Biex jinkiseb dan, il-gvern irid jistabbilixxi b’urġenza standards u linji gwida nazzjonali għall-infrastruttura tat-toroq ta’ kull tip, inklużi bankini, infrastruttura għaċ-ċikliżmu u toroq kondiviżi. Dan l-isforz għandu jkun ibbażat fuq standards internazzjonali u jinkludi reviżjoni tal-qafas legali sabiex titjieb il-protezzjoni tal-utenti vulnerabbli tat-toroq. Huwa ċar li mhux biżżejjed li titfa’ ftit żebgħa ħadra u tittama għall-aħjar.
Fid-dawl tas-silenzju perfett lejn l-ittra miftuħa tagħna lill-Ministru tat-Trasport u l-Kapijiet Eżekuttivi ta’ Infrastructure Malta u Transport Malta, aħna nistaqsu għal darb’oħra: min se jerfa’ r-responsabbiltà għal dal-ħabtiet u l-imwiet fit-toroq sforz disinn ħażin? L-organizzazzjonijiet jemmnu li jekk in-nies fit-tmun tal-awtoritajiet rilevanti se jibqgħu inattivi fuq din il-kwistjoni, allura mhumiex denji tal-pożizzjoni tagħhom u għandhom jirriżenjaw.
