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8 News MASSIMO COSTA TRAFFIC in Malta is being monitored through a system of cameras around, managed from a control centre at Transport Malta's headquarters at the A3 Towers in Paola. MaltaToday visited the centre on a Wednesday, ar- riving amid the 6.30am rush hour start, as private and commercial vehicles hit the roads, to observe the tech- nology being used. On entering the room, we saw an array of screens displaying live video of Malta's major roads, as traffic controllers scanned all the goings on. Frank Axiaq, head of the control centre, explained that Transport Malta runs a system of 27 high-defini- tion video cameras covering four main areas of Malta. The free SkylineWebcams system is also used to help cover areas not filmed by the 27 cameras. "This is a new system – our controllers are getting accustomed to it – to monitor traffic in the 'hottest' areas," Axiaq told us, adding that roads gradually come to life around 6am. in Zejtun, are the first to see traf- fic," he said, since people working in those sectors start relatively early. As the morning progresses, school, office job and retail outlet traffic starts, the traffic wave shift- ing to Valletta, Kappara, Sliema and St Julian's and peaking around 8.15am. "Traffic conditions can change drastically – a batch of cars can ap- pear suddenly on a road which was quiet some moments ago. This is usually the result of cars coming from different streets and congre- gating simultaneously," Axiaq said. We observed how traffic, which had started to gather in the Marsa and Qormi region around 6.30am, began increasing by 7.30am in the Regional Road and Kappara areas, as commuters from Sliema, St Ju- lian's and surrounding areas left their homes. We saw the ripple effect a truck blocking the road at Ta' Kandja had on traffic build-up at Qormi round- about. "Whenever our cameras pick up a problem, we solve it promptly, ei- ther by calling the police or by using our field officers," Axiaq said. Certain roads are always problem- atic, including those around Kap- para, Triq Aldo Moro and Vjal Sir Paul Boffa. Axiaq highlighted how, during the first week of school after summer, they pick up vastly increased traffic flows. Once students and the minibus system settle, the situation im- proves, he said. "Now that it is Christmas, we are seeing activity on roads which would usually be quiet in the even- ing," Vella said. "In certain cases it is hard to predict traffic based on a pattern. Sometimes we cannot under- stand why some roads are clear, or jammed, when they normally aren't." Like a number of commuters, we had noticed that roads are some- times less congested on Fridays. Axiaq said he was not quite sure why, but one proposed reason was that people tended to take leave days towards the end of the week, reducing cars on the road. Black Friday traffic was almost certainly a result of this, Vella said, with morning traffic having been light, but exploding later as many experienced unusually long delays and never-ending lines of cars. Transport Malta now operates a system of traffic updates dur- ing peak hours on its website. This system displays information on Malta's busiest streets, specifying whether traffic is flowing or if there are degrees of congestion. Roads statuses are updated every five min- utes, the moment controllers notice any changes on camera. "The traffic pattern acts like a wave," Antoine Vella, supervisor in charge, elaborated, "it starts at around 6.30am in Marsa and then builds around Qormi." He explained that the amount of traffic and the time and where it starts corresponds to economic sectors' working times. "Industrial estate areas, such as Marsa, or Bulebel maltatoday SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER 2017 Some 27 cameras across Malta monitor traffic across the island, allowing a control centre at Transport Malta to react quicker to congestion problems Eyes on the road All hands on deck! Traffic controllers montitor traffic patterns at peak times throughout the day