Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1499169
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 MAY 2023 NEWS Government mulls radical transport changes to ease road congestion CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The man, a senior official at the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, had been charged with harassing the victim, subjecting the wom- an to an unsolicited act of phys- ical intimacy, subjecting her to unwanted sexual behaviour and misuse of telecommunications equipment. He had reportedly sent the woman sexually-suggestive messages and would repeatedly touch her inappropriately, ig- noring her requests that he stop. The abuse had lasted from May 2019 until September 2022. The victim, a classically trained mu- sician, had eventually resigned from the Orchestra to avoid fur- ther contact with the man. In view of the defendant's guilty plea, the Court of Magis- trates had sentenced the man to one year in prison, suspended for four years and imposed a five- year restraining order in favour of the victim. But despite the non-custodial sentence, the man's lawyers had appealed the judgment, arguing it was too harsh. In a judgment handed down on 27 April, the Court of Crim- inal Appeal, presided by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera confirmed the finding of guilt, but reduced the man's punish- ment to a conditional discharge and a €500 fine. The lesser punishment was im- posed after the court upheld the argument that the misuse of tele- communications equipment was a means to an end for the harass- ment, and did not merit a sepa- rate charge. The court also noted that all of the involved parties had consented to a conditional discharge. Controversy raged last year when the case first came to light, especially in view of the fact that the victim had to resign from the orchestra. Police eventually also charged the MPO chief Sigmund Mifsud and accused him of try- ing to obstruct justice and tam- per with evidence in the sexual harassment case. The case is ongoing and Mifsud denies the charges. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Sources privy to the ongoing consultation process said an idea floated by the ministry was to close off the university ring road to cars between 6:30am and 9:30am, allowing access only to cars with three or more passen- gers and Blue Badge holders and cyclists. However, this proposal is be- lieved to have been met with scepticism since it could lead to a spillover of cars into the im- mediate Msida neighbourhood or the Campus Hub parking fa- cility, which is against payment. A representative from Bullet- proof also floated the idea of doubling stipends for students willing to carpool to university but no tangible plan was pre- sented. A direct shuttle service to uni- versity from three central nodes in the north, south and central parts of Malta was also pro- posed. Sources said the system would work on the park-and- ride model, offering free transit every 15 minutes, starting from 7am until 9pm. Other less radical proposals included the improvement of the cycle network from different localities towards university and an increase in bus frequency for the area. Sources close to university told MaltaToday the KSU will be consulting with student organ- isations over the coming weeks to gauge their feedback on the proposals. More meetings between the KSU and the ministry are also expected. Traffic congestion remains a significant problem despite the big investment made to improve the road network over the past five years. The latest figures from the Na- tional Statistics Office show that the stock of licensed vehicles in Malta stood at 426,720 at the end of March. Out of these, 75% were passenger cars. Between January and March, the stock of licensed motor ve- hicles increased at a net average rate of 20 vehicles per day. Curbing private car use has always been a thorny political issue in a country where people are in love with their cars. Politi- cians have always been reluctant to penalise car use to encourage people to use public transport instead. Since last October, buses are free for Tal-Linja card holders with government forking out generous subsidies in a bid to encourage their use. From suspended sentence to conditional discharge