Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/994982
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 JUNE 2018 NEWS quantified. But the project comes at a cost, with the Environment Resources Authority already expressing concern over the loss of a large tract of agricul- tural land. Edward Mallia warns that increased southbound traf- fic through Triq Nutar Zarb might upset any hopes of improvement. He also says a large area of agricultural land would be gobbled by the new northbound arm of Nu- tar Zarb, which will go past the backs of houses all the way from Attard Cemetery to Mount Carmel Hospiral. "Noise and exhaust and oth- er pollution will certainly be present in these areas," Mallia says. Transport Malta has already considered a number of alter- natives, including the widen- ing of existing roads and the excavation of tunnels. "Whilst the widening of existing roads in the heart of Attard would have required extensive building expropriations and demolition, the excavation of tunnels was found to be unfeasible as well," a govern- ment spokesperson told Mal- taToday. Transport Malta is commit- ted to publishing the findings of this cost-benefit analysis and the ongoing discussions with stakeholders which are being compiled in a final re- port. This will also be assessed in planning process. But when asked whether a full Environment Impact As- sessment has been started, the government spokesperson replied: "any other studies or documentation required by the planning and environ- mental authorities will be duly provided by Transport Malta, in line with applicable procedures." Trees in the way Transport Malta is also working on plans to upgrade the Santa Lucija roundabout junction, which includes a four-lane underpass to link Vjal Santa Lucija with Triq tal-Barrani and the building of a new roundabout, with safer connections, above it. This project is expected to reduce travelling times and vehicle emissions along this main route to the southern part of Malta. The ERA has recently ex- pressed concern on the pos- sible loss of trees along a kilometre-long expanse at the Addolorata hill in Paola, re- lated to widening of the Santa Luċija roundabout. "The destruction of hun- dreds of mature trees along Triq Marija Addolorata and Triq Tal-Barrani will impov- erish Santa Lucija and Tarx- ien through the removal of the natural buffering these trees which, for decades, have provided these communities against the impact of heavy traffic,", says NGO Flimkien Ghall-Ambjent Ahjar. The government spokesper- son insisted that whenever trees need to be relocated, every effort will be made to transplant them under the guidance of botanical experts. If transplanting is not techni- cally possible, additional in- digenous trees will be plant- ed to ensure that the area is left with more trees than the amount found on site before the project. Another pending road-wid- ening project is that of Sel- mun Hill which would uproot 25 old Aleppo pine trees on Selmun Hill, which are pro- tected under the Trees and Woodlands Protection Regu- lations. According to plans, the trees will be transplanted to a "green central strip" along the same road, but some ex- perts have warned that such trees do not typically survive relocation. More projects, more cars Mega-development projects in the offing are expected to increase pressures in other areas in Malta. Traffic along Triq il-Missjoni Taljana in Kalkara could increase from the current daily average of 3,978 cars to a staggering 22,151 cars after the completion of all the development envisaged at Smart City (pictured) – most of which was approved in 2009. The original Traffic Impact Assessment for the project carried out in 2007 had been based on the assumption that a new link road to Smart City would pass through agricultural land in Zabbar. But this development is now considered "unlikely" according to an EIA commissioned by the Shoreline Developers, which are constructing a new luxury apartment complex on the site of Smart City. A traffic study has indicated that the proposed development at Manoel Island by the MIDI consortium will generate an annual daily average number of 4,900 inbound and outbound trips. The original environment impact assessment for the project presented in 1999 had referred to the development of a new access road to Manoel Island from the Msida regional road. This proposal, which was meant to "offset the negative impact" on the infrastructure, was later dropped. Together with other projects earmarked in St George's Bay, and primarily the approved Villa Rosa project, the City Centre development is expected to increase the flow of traffic to the area by an average of 7,000 daily car trips. Transport Malta has not yet taken any decision with regard to the funding of a proposed tunnel that will funnel traffic from and to the db Group's City Centre high-rise development in Pembroke. private lasting expected… what to solve overcrowded private cars (RIGHT) Mriehel bypass: the new road design will widen the entire route to two- or three- lanes in each direction, whilst reconfiguring over 13 junctions, to eliminate several bottlenecks. The project will include 19,300sq.m. of new landscaped areas, with trees and other shrubbery, but the amount of agricultural land lost to the new road system still has to be quantified "There is no one fit-all-solution to address the issues spawned by traffic congestion and the prevalent car culture."