Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507818
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWS JAMES DEBONO SMART City has been told to as- sess the impact on traffic of vari- ous changes being contemplated to the area's masterplan and pro- pose solutions. The obligation is found in the terms of reference for a Traffic Impact Assessment issued by the Planning Authority. The study is likely to determine whether the Smart City develop- ment, which is set to accommo- date the American University of Malta's campus and other resi- dential institutions, will require a new access road. According to the terms of ref- erence, the study must include any suggested changes to the in- frastructure required to mitigate the traffic impact of the project. It must also include the possible re- design of key links and junctions. The TIA should also include proposals to reduce traffic through a Green Transport Plan with measures to reduce single occupancy car trips and recom- mendations for cycling, pedestri- an and sea-based routes. The TIA will also include an es- timation of future trip generation and capacity assessments of the key links and junctions. The new Smart City master- plan allocates plots previous- ly earmarked for information and communication technology (ICT) offices to other purposes like development related to ed- ucation and residential institu- tions. According to a spokesperson for the company the changes reflect "local and global market considerations", replacing the emphasis on the delivery of office space that was central to the 2008 masterplan with an increased fo- cus "on education and training facilities". The agreement with Smart City on the relocation of the Ameri- can University of Malta campus from Zonqor, includes an obliga- tion on government to construct a new connection road linking Bieb is-Sultan in Zabbar, to the Cappuchin's convent in Kalkara. A 643m dual carriageway link- ing the two landmarks was al- ready proposed in 2007. But as proposed, the road would have resulted in the loss of 14,500sq.m of agricultural land in the scenic Tal-Fata area in Zabbar. Last year a spokesperson for Economy Minister Silvio Schembri told MaltaToday that an existing dirt road is now being considered for the road link. "Government is ex- ploring a different route from that proposed in the 2007 ap- plication, utilizing an existing dirt road instead of passing the road right through agricultur- al land at tal-Fata as originally proposed in 2007," a spokes- person had confirmed. Road access to Smart City to be determined in Traffic Impact Assessment