F’konferenza tal-aħbarijiet fuq pont fi Triq Diċembru 13 il-Marsa kelliema ta’ ADPD-The Green Party insistew li l-miżuri proposti illum fil-qasam tat-trasport m’humiex adegwati għas-sitwazzjoni preżenti u hemm il-ħtieġa ta’ oħrajn aktar radikali biex tkun indirizzata l-problema. Ikun ferm iktar għaqli li flok ikun issussidjat il-petrol u d-diesel ikun introdott u msaħħaħ trasport lokali u reġjonali li jekk organizzat sewwa jista’ jnaqqas ammont sostanzjali ta’ karozzi mit-toroq.

L-uffiċjal għar-relazzjonijiet pubbliċi ta’ ADPD-The Green Party Brian Decelis qal li l-Gvern missu l-ewwelnett attwa dak li kien identifikat fil-Masterplan dwar it-Trasport għaxar snin ilu u mhux ġeneralment injora dak li kien hemm propost u intefa’ fuq proġetti infrastrutturali li ma solvew xejn. Kif rajna kemm-il darba, it-twessigħ tat-toroq u numru ta’ flyovers fissru biss li l-problema ta’ konġestjoni mxiet lejn żoni oħra imma l-karozzi baqgħu dejjem jibqgħu iktar jeħlu fit-traffiku, kif wara kollox naraw b’għajnejna ta’ kuljum.

Mhuwiex biss meta jkun hemm xi aċċident jew xi avveniment bħal tas-Sigma li s-sitwazzjoni tat-traffiku saret tkun waħda gravi, li qegħda twassal għal stress żejjed u ħela ta’ ħin fit-toroq tagħna, b’impatt anke fuq il-produttività ta’ pajjiżna. Dan ġara għaliex minflok ma wieħed prova jindirizza l-problema f’għeruqha – billi jara kif jitnaqqas in-numru ta’ karozzi fit-toroq limitati ta’ pajjiżna – sar bil-maqlub billi kontinwament ittieħdu inizjattivi li jinkoraġixxu l-użu tal-karozzi privati.

Dan juri nuqqas kbir ta’ ippjanar fit-tul min-naħa tal-gvern u li kieku ġew implementi dak li kien propost fil-Masterplan għaxar snin ilu kieku illum ma ninsabux f’din is-sitwazzjoni li hija verament allarmanti, temm jgħid Decelis.

Id-Deputat Chairperson ta’ ADPD – The Green Party, Carmel Cacopardo qal li l-problema tat-trasport ilha tikber u n-nuqqas ta’ politika adegwata li tindirizzaha ifisser li issa qegħdin tard biex nimplimentaw miżuri żgħar imma hemm bżonn bidla radikali.

Il-mod ta’ kif l-użu tal-art kien ippjanat hemm bżonn li jinbidel biex jagħti prijorità lin-nies u lill-bżonnijiet tagħhom qabel dawk tal-karozzi. Għandu jsir aktar faċli biex in-nies jinqdew fil-lokalità tagħhom stess mingħajr ma jkollhom għalfejn isuqu. Il-Masterplan dwar it-Trasport li kien ikkummissjona il-Gvern stess kien indika li nofs il-vjaġġi li jsiru bil-karozzi privati huma ta’ inqas minn kwarta u għal distanzi qosra. Dan ifisser li n-nuqqasijiet ewlenin li jeħtiegu li jkunu indirizzati huma fil-lokalitajiet tagħna fejn ħwienet żgħar li jaqdu lin-nies qed jagħlqu għax mhux f’pożizzjoni li jikkompetu ma’ supermarkets u negozji kbar fil-periferiji tal-ibliet.

Hawn ta’ min isemmi li din il-problema mhiex xi ħaġa li qegħdin niffaċjawa biss hawn Malta. F’Pariġi u fi bliet oħra madwar id-dinja ġiet adottata inizjattiva li tinkoraġġixi li l-ħtiġijiet tal-komunitajiet jinqdew ġeneralment fil-qrib ta’ fejn joqgħodu, mhux bogħod iktar minn kwarta mixja jew rikba ta’ rota. L-esperjeza tul il-pandemija tal-Covid urietna li xogħol li jista’ jsir mid-dar jgħin ukoll biex dan l-għan jintlaħaq.

Cacopardo sostna li hija ħasra li l-miżuri li tressqu fil-Masterplan ġew injorati għal snin kbar. Issa li l-Ministru tat-Trasport qed jipproponi dawn il-miżuri l-impatt fuq it-toroq tagħna se jkun minimu għax il-mira tal-Gvern hi żbaljata: qed jonqos milli jindirizza l-kawża tal-problema. Il-konġestjoni fit-toroq hi l-effett ta’ traskuragni akkumulata fl-ippjanar tat-trasport.

Hemm ħtiega li l-Gvern ikompli jiżviluppa l-miżura tajba ta’ trasport pubbliku b’xejn u jestendi dan għal trasport pubbliku lokali u reġjonali. Ikun ferm iktar għaqli li flok ikun issussidjat il-petrol u d-diesel ikun introdott u msaħħaħ trasport lokali u reġjonali li jekk organizzat sewwa jista’ jnaqqas ammont sostanzjali ta’ karozzi mit-toroq. Miżura bħal din tindirizza nofs il-vjaggi li nagħmlu bil-karozzi privati li kif jgħidilna l-Masterplan imfassal għaxar snin ilu, huma għal distanzi qosra, temm jgħid Cacopardo.

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Time-up for blanket subsidies on fuel

In a news conference held on a pedestrian bridge over December 13 Street, Marsa, speakers for ADPD – The Green Party insisted that the transport measures proposed today are not adequate for the present situation and there is the need for more radical measures to address the problem.  Rather than subsidising petrol and diesel, free local and regional transport should be considered to significantly reduce the number of cars on roads.

Public Relations Officer for ADPD – The Green Party Brian Decelis said that the government should first implement what was identified in the Transport Masterplan ten years ago rather than proceed to ignore what was proposed and engage in infrastructure projects that fail to offer solutions.  “As we have seen again and again, road-widening and an increase in flyovers have not solved the problem; if anything, they have only shifted the problem elsewhere.  This is what we witness daily.  Congestion on the roads does not materialise only when there are traffic accidents and major events like the recent Sigma Summit.  It has become a daily occurrence, leading to excessive stress for commuters and time lost on our roads, and it is having an impact on our country’s productivity.  This has happened because the root cause of the problem was never addressed, that is to see how the number of cars on the road can be reduced.  Rather, all initiatives have encouraged greater reliance on private car use.  This reveals that the government has failed at long-term planning.  If what had been proposed in the Masterplan ten years was implemented, we would not be experiencing what we are experiencing today”, concluded Decelis. 

ADPD – The Green Party Deputy Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said that the transport problem has been in the making for a while.  “The lack of political to address this problem has led to what we are experiencing today.  It is too late to implement small measures for gradual change.  It has now come to a point that radical changes are necessary.

There is an urgent need for prioritizing people and their needs rather than car usage when it comes to land planning.   Measures must be taken to make it easier for people to meet their daily needs in their own locality rather than having to drive elsewhere.  The transport masterplan commissioned by the government has shown that half of all trips made by private car were for short distances that took less than fifteen minutes.  This is a major weakness that needs to be addressed as small, independent businesses are not in a position to compete with supermarkets and other large businesses to be found on the outskirts of major towns. 

It must be mentioned that this is not a problem unique to Malta.  In Paris and other major cities around the world initiatives have been introduced to encourage residents to have their needs met within the communities they live in, not more than a fifteen-minute walk or bike ride away.  Our experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that working from home can also help to alleviate the traffic problem. 

Cacopardo emphasised that it is indeed a pity for the measures proposed by the Transport Masterplan to be ignored all these years.  Now the Minister of Transport Minister is pushing proposals which will have a very minimal impact on our roads because the government is not addressing the root cause of the problem.  The congestion we currently witness on our roads is the result of the long-term lack of action on transport.

The government must develop positive measures regarding free public transport and extend that to both local and regional public transport.  It would be sensible to work on well-organised local and regional transport to reduce traffic on the road rather than subsidise petrol and diesel.  As pointed out by the Masterplan published ten years ago, such a measure would address half of the short journeys we make by private car”, concluded Cacopardo.