Since planning is still car-centric rather than people-centric, problems created by traffic keep increasing. This was the main message of a press conference held near St Luke’s Hospital in Pieta.

Janet Zahra Walker, ADPD-The Green Party local council candidate for Pieta said that although St Luke’s Hospital in Pieta is not as frequented as before, particularly since 2007 when Mater Dei started operating, there are still many cars which make use its facilities. The POYC offices, the Orthopedic Centre and the Karin Grech ehabilitation centre are in fact all based there.

We are here because we want to bring attention to the fact that in the vicinity – in the hospital grounds in fact – there is also the Pieta Primary school. In contrast to other localities, this area is devoid of pavements or adequate walkways designed for children between the ages of three to eleven years. The lack of attention to people who walk to school is concerning and reconfirms our persistent over-reliance on cars. We demand safe streets where pedestrians, including school children, feel safe and are given due priority.

Is it possible that it does not cross the mind of the Local Council, that there are alternative modes of travel for people to commute, besides cars? The fact that no pavement near the school has been contemplated shows serious lack of consideration for the safety of our children. During school rush hours, the street is not even closed to traffic, which poses serious dangers. We feel that people, especially children, deserve better, stated Zahra Walker.

Further up there are the local council offices, the headquarters of both PN and PL, however for the school, there has been no consideration and proper planning. The teachers and students of this school deserve much better: they deserve to be able to commute to their place of learning without any risk to their lives, or being hit by cars, claimed Zahra Walker.

ADPD Chairperson, Sandra Gauci, spoke about the proposed Msida flyover project a little distance away, which at first looks ambitious, but is in fact nothing more than yet another glorified monument to cars. It is another mediocre attempt to alleviate traffic. As we have seen from other road projects, the intended solutions failed as traffic jams remain and will remain, unless we have serious policies, aimed to incentivise other more sustainable alternative modes of transport, including public transport.

Gauci stressed that the proposed infrastructure promotes car use. A bus lane isn’t even contemplated!  It is all too easy to propose large projects with lots of pomp and eye-catching artist’s impressions, whilst new ideas and solutions envisaging less cars remain elusive. We have a government which wants to retain the status quo, proposing huge projects, which on paper give the impression that they will be beneficial but in fact are more of the same mistakes, further increasing over-reliance on cars. Cycle lanes and pedestrian paths are included but it seems without much thought.Msida is a polluted area and will remain so.

This is an area where people commute on foot, which is positive, and which must be given due importance and respect. Projects of such magnitude are wrong, even on paper, as they put cars at the centre and not people. With this mentality traffic will keep increasing, ended Gauci.

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Il-karozza tibqa’ fiċ-ċentru tal-ippjanar u t-traffiku jkompli jiżdied!

Pjanijiet li fiċ-ċentru tal-ħsieb tagħhom m’hemmx iċ-ċittadin imma l-karozza huma r-raġuni ewlenija għaż-żieda fil-problemi ikkawżati mit-traffiku. Dan qaluh kelliema tal-ADPD-The Green Party meta indirizzaw konferenza tal-aħbarijiet biswit l-isptar San Luqa f’Tal-Pietà.

Il-kandidata tal-ADPD għall-kunsill lokali tal-Pietà Janet Zahra Walker, qalet li għalkemm l-Isptar San Luqa ma għadux iffrekwentat bħal qabel, wara li mill-2007 beda jintuża’ l-Isptar Mater Dei, xorta waħda ta’ kuljum hawn volum kbir ta’ karozzi li jidħlu fih. Filfatt f’din iż-żona kienu tmexxew ukoll l-uffiċini tal-POYC, iċ-Ċentru Ortopediku kif ukoll hawn iċ-ċentru ta’ rijabilitazzjoni Karin Grech, fost oħrajn. 

Aħna llum, mhux qegħdin hawn minħabba l-isptar però nixtiequ niġbdu l-attenzjoni ta’ kulħadd li fil-limiti ta’ dan l-isptar, hawn ukoll l-iskola primarja tal-Pietà. B’differenza ta’ lokalitajiet oħra, din iż-żona hija nieqsa minn bankini jew passaġġ adekwat maħsub prinċipalment għat-tfal minn tliet snin sa ħdax-il sena. In-nuqqas ta’ ħsieb għal nies li jmorru l-iskola bil-mixi hu ta tħassib filwaqt li jkompli jikkonferma dwar kemm għadna pajjiż skjav tal-karozza. Irridu toroq sikuri fejn min jużahom bil-pass – inkluż it-tfal tal-iskola – jħossu sikur u jingħata prijorità?

Possibbli li l-Kunsill Lokali tal-Pietà lanqas biss tgħaddilu minn rasu li hemm modi oħra li n-nies jistgħu jużaw biex imorru minn post għal ieħor għajr il-karozza? Il-fatt li fejn skola xi ħaġa sempliċi bħal bankina lanqas biss ġiet ikkontemplata turi traskuraġni kbira lejn is-sigurtà tat-tfal tagħna. Waqt il-ħinijiet tal-ftuħ u għeluq tal-iskola it-triq lanqas biss tingħalaq għat-traffiku u allura il-periklu hu ikbar. Aħna nħossu li dawn jistħoqqilhom aħjar, sostniet Zahra Walker.

Naqra ‘l fuq min din iż-żona, insibu l-kunsill lokali, l-kwartieri ġenerali kemm tal-PN u kemm tal-PL, però għal din l-iskola donnu ħadd qatt ma ħaseb. Din l-iskola, bl-għalliema u l-istudenti kollha tagħha jistħoqqilhom ħafna aħjar: jistħoqqilhom li jmorru f’post ta’ tagħlim minghajr l-ebda riskju lejn ħajjithom b’xi daqqa ta’ karozza, temmet tgħid Zahra Walker.

Iċ-Chairperson tal-ADPD Sandra Gauci tkellmet dwar il-proġett propost ftit ‘il bogħod fl-Imsida li għalkemm mal-ewwel daqqa t’għajn jidher ambizzjuż, mhu xejn għajr monument ieħor għall-glorifikazzjoni tal-karozza. Dan kollu f’attentat medjokri biex mingħalihom jonqos it-traffiku. Kif għallmuna proġetti oħra li saru qabel qisu lanqas indunaw li l-pjanijiet tagħhom sfaw suf għax iġġamjati konna, għadna, u hekk se nibqgħu jekk ma jkollniex politika serja u mmirata biex nixprunaw in-nies jużaw mezzi alternattivi ta’ mobilità sostenibbli, inkluż it-trasport pubbliku.

Il-kelliema insistiet li l-infrastruttura stess proposta qed tippromwovi l-karozzi. Lanqas ħjiel ta’ bus lane. Iktar faċli tippjana dawn il-proġetti kbar b’ħafna pompa u grafika li tiġbed l-għajn milli tippromwovi ideat moderni fejn l-użu tal-karozza għandu jonqos. Għandna gvern beżżiegħ li jrid iħalli l-affarijiet kif inhuma u joffri dawn il-proġetti enormi li fuq il-karta jidhru li se jkunu ta’ ġid iżda huma ripetizzjoni tal-iżbalji reċenti fejn aktar qed nagħmlu lin-nies skjavi tall-karozza. Hemm ippjanati spazji għar-roti u għall-mixi, imma mid-dehra ma tantx hemm xi ħsieb warajhom. 

Din iż-żona hija żona fejn jgħaddu ammont kbir ta’ nies bil-mixi minnha li hu xi ħaġa pożittiva u li trid tibqa’ u tingħata r-rispett u l-importanza tagħha. Pjanijiet ta’ dan il-kobor huma żbaljati anke fuq il-karta għaliex fiċ-ċentru tal-ħsieb tagħhom m’hemmx iċ-ċittadin imma l-karozza u din hija waħda mir-raġunijiet għala t-traffiku se jibqa’ jżid, temmet tgħid Gauci.