Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/736806
25 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2016 Opinion this country? The objection to Xuereb's plan, as I recall, was that the partial underground system he proposed (coupled with an overhead monorail) was 'unfeasible', 'impractical', and so on. Strangely, however, both Nationalist and Labour governments responded far more favourably to suggestions of a tunnel or bridge to Gozo. Try working that one out. Drilling a 3km+ tunnel under the seabed? When geologists warn that the strata of rock on Gozo's southern ridge is riddled with faults? That's perfectly doable. But utilising and expanding an already-existing tunnel network, to create a combination of underground/overhead railway systems... that, naturally, is the stuff of fantasy. Something only unrealistic environmentalists would dream up, when they're not too busy hugging trees... Hardly surprising, then, that we would fail to ever even approach our national traffic problem, let alone solve it. Because let's be blunt about something. What did successive governments actually do to alleviate traffic in the last 10 years? Did they introduce any alternatives for mass transit? Oh sure, they might have reinstated boat rides from Sliema/Birgu to Valletta… and a good thing that was too. But on a national level... what major changes to the present infrastructure have we actually introduced? Let's see now. Gonzi's idea was to utilise the Armed Forces to direct traffic at peak hours. But unless the AFM used heavy artillery to actually blow up cars and trucks... I fail to see how that could make any difference to the number of cars on the road. As with practically all Gonzi's other failures, his approach to traffic was management-by-crisis. And as we can all see, it didn't work. Well, these guys went one better. Their approach is to simply admit that the problem is beyond their capacity to solve. Transport Minister Joe Mizzi even told us not to expect 'miracles'. As if it would require Divine Intervention for a government to effectively tackle a national problem, and come up with an innovative solution. Sorry, Mr Mizzi, but we don't expect miracles. All we expect is for you to the job you are paid to do from the public purse. But then, I guess that really would be miraculous, in a manner of speaking... All this goes to show how the problem was allowed to escalate to national emergency proportions in the first place. And that, I fear, is no exaggeration. This week, an Air Malta flight was delayed because pilots got stuck in traffic. I'll leave it to you to picture what this country will be reduced to, if that becomes a daily, inevitable occurrence – which it will, I assure you. As sure as that ship was made of iron... So, to recap: 10 years after the PTA president warned us all that we would be in precisely this mess today, every administration of government simply ignored the problem and allowed it to fester uncontrolled. They pooh-poohed ingenious, far-sighted solutions presented to them on a silver platter by the private sector; they doggedly stuck to a failed public transport system (and even, incredibly, managed to make it worse). And that is not even the half of it. All governments since that fateful warning – but none more than the present – have also embarked on a foolish, uncontrolled and unplanned development spree, that will very soon make today's unbearable traffic situation look like a motorist's paradise. In the case of the recent Townsquare project in Sliema – approved by the Planning Authority last August – the Transport Impact Assessment specified that it would increase the volume of traffic in and out of Sliema by a staggering 3,500 cars a day. What the report failed to mention is that the streets leading in and out of Sliema are not going to get any wider. The Strand/ Sliema Seafront is the widest, and it caters for one lane of traffic each way. (I shudder to think what Manuel Dimech Street will become like. Manuel Demented, more like it...) In Mriehel, a project for four high-rise towers was approved, even though it failed to provide sufficient parking spaces for all the cars it would attract. So we can expect a few hundred more cars circulating endlessly to find a parking space in a crowded area... every single working day of the week. Oh, and of course we also decided that there simply wasn't enough chaos and confusion in Paceville these days. So we came up with a 'master plan' for the area, which masterfully repeats all the above mistakes... only this time in a smaller area catered for by even narrower streets. Yep, folks. That is what we refer to as 'planning' in this country. We even have a State Planning Authority, to ensure that everything is meticulously planned to maximise traffic as much as possible, in every single part of the island. And you're complaining about traffic today? Sorry, but... ha, ha! Just you wait, 'Enry 'Iggins, just you wait...