13
ANALYSIS
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 NOVEMBER 2024
BONETT'S PLAN TO EASE TRAFFIC
CONGESTION: A DÉJÀ VU
CHRIS Bonett's plan to ease
traffic congestion is pragmat-
ic but also an indictment of
government's inertia to tackle
the issue over the past decade.
Most of the 18 points list-
ed in Bonett's plan, dubbed
Reshaping Our Mobility,
had appeared in a trans-
port master plan published
eight years ago. The latter
was called Transport Master
Plan 2025 and was put for-
ward by then minister Joe
Mizzi.
With just one year to go be-
fore the master plan expires,
some of the measures have
resurfaced in the Bonett
plan with a commitment to
implement the changes over
an 18-month period after all
public consultation process-
es come to an end.
The transport master plan
was a 444-page document,
covering all areas of trans-
port – land, maritime and
aviation. It identified the
challenges and proposed
several solutions.
The part on land transport
was focused on easing traffic
congestion and encouraging
the use of alternative modes
of transport, including sea
travel.
The master plan had paint-
ed a grim picture at the time,
arguing that the economic
cost of traffic congestion
through increased journey
time delays, higher oper-
ating costs and the cost of
extra pollution would reach
€584 million per year by
2025.
The master plan had fore-
cast that at 2016 growth
levels, by the year 2025,
Tower Road and the Strand
in Sliema will reach their
practical operating capaci-
ties. It also forecast that the
central section of the TEN-T
network (Triq Aldo Moro,
Hamrun Bypass, Santa Ven-
era tunnels and Tal-Qroqq
junction), will experience
a further 6% traffic growth
and suffer major capacity
issues during the morning
peak.
The master plan authors
warned that without appro-
priate mitigation measures,
CONTINUES NEXT PAGE
KURT
SANSONE
ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt
