It is worrying to realize that our politicians not only lack common sense but also lack hindsight when it comes to planning ahead for the future.
In the nineties, traffic lights popped up on Maltese roads. Nowadays, their latest solution to traffic is flyovers. Lovin Malta has reported that a flyover is set to replace the current traffic light junction between Swieqi and St. Julians.
Instead of seeing how to protect the Maltese nation from being overcrowded by illegal immigrants and industries that brought with them a lot of foreigners, instead of cultivating a culture where the Maltese are encouraged to use bicycles by creating cycling lanes, the useless politicians see how to tweak the roads to enable more cars on the road. But no! It’s all about cars, cars, and more cars and going around in circles to accommodate both cars and the big boys behind such an industry. Where is the space for pedestrians?
Needless to say, all these works in progress create more chaos and are an inconvenience to the whole nation. But then they tell you that traffic is a perception, or else they offer you their solution to go green and buy electric cars while accepting the carrots they offer you:
Rest assured that after you fall for this trick, they will tell you that electric vehicles are now creating problems, and then they will offer you another of their solutions. And when shit hits the fan, because trust me, it is going to hit the fan very soon, they will leave you alone to drown.
When will local decision-makers learn about urban design and that any solution that they offer does not prove to be efficient in the long run?
What is the intention of this flyover? Is it for Saint Julian’s and Paceville to gain better access? If this is the intention, then this project is doomed for another failure because the flyover will get cars quicker to the bottleneck and narrow roads that lead down to Saint George’s Bay and towards the narrow Gort Street that leads to the new roundabout in front of Pender Gardens and then onto Saint George’s Road. If one is heading towards Saint Andrew’s, one will still head to a one-way road, which is also another bottleneck.
To add insult to injury, Saint Andrew’s Road leading to Pembroke has not been completed yet. So, why are the authorities planning to smash the connecting road? What kind of disastrous planning is this? Do the authorities have brains?
Malta has been and is ruined. It has become a car island. It is far too late for any alternatives, and there is no space for any other forms of transport. It is doomed to overpopulation and never-ending congestion. Past road projects have proven that any road-related project did not solve traffic congestion. Instead, projects encouraged the use of private cars. By the time this flyover is completed, there will be another 50,000 cars on our roads and more foreigners living on this little island.
What is more insulting is that this is yet another pharaonic project to sink public funds. Can the government explain how it has the necessary funds to allocate 40 to 50 million euros for this project, but when it comes to increasing the salary of educators [or any other Maltese worker], there isn’t enough money?
If the Labour government stated that the rise in pay for educators should be sustainable, shouldn’t the funds allocated for these pharaonic projects be sustainable too?