Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515076
17 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JANUARY 2024 NEWS two 1.3m-wide footpaths and a 3m-wide cycle land. How the new road will connect Zabbar to Smart City The first part of the proposed road covers the area surround- ing the Żabbar Notre Dame Gate leading from Żabbar to- wards Cospicua. The plans propose the conver- sion of the existing path starting in the Tal-Fata area and pro- ceeding along the Cottonera lines into an actual road with its associated infrastructure including cycle paths and bus lanes. The path is located within the glacis of the Cottonera Lines, in- cluding St James Bastion and St Louis Bastion. While the glacis from No- tre Dame Gate along St James Bastion and St James Gate is mostly disturbed and already concreted, the ditch is still visi- ble along the stretch of St James Gate while the ditch and glacis are more preserved along the stretch of St Louis Bastion. The second part of the project involves a new road linking St Louis Bastion and the Capuchin convent. The last part of the road links the Capuchin Con- vent to Smart City The proposal along this stretch is limited to the widening of the existing already-formed road network. The stretch along Triq il-Missjoni Taljana is located at a distance of 30m from a buffer Zone for the protected cart ruts. The Environment and Re- sources Authority is still screen- ing the project and has asked TM to present a project devel- opment statement to determine whether an Environment Im- pact Assessment is required. In its preliminary submissions ERA recommended that the new road connecting Triq Trejqet ta' Fata and Triq Liberata should follow the existing contours as much as possible "in order to minimize impact on the rural landscape". It has also called for the removal of the new road which is planned to bypass the proposed roundabout at Triq il-Missjoni Taljana. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage is still analysing the plans. But any works ap- proved close to the fortifications are to be monitored and subject to a bank guarantee. proposal for road linking Zabbar to Smart City