NGOs Friends of the Earth, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar and the Noise Abatement Society of Malta welcome the study on Malta traffic drawn up by the University of Malta Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.
The study found that excessive dependence on private transport and the ever-growing number of cars choking Malta’s roads has a very real impact on Malta’s economy. The total impact on the national budget from productivity loss, accident medical care, disability benefits and air pollution environmental impacts is reckoned to reach some €220 million per annum.
There are also the long-term health effects of air pollution which not only contributes to the frequency and severity of asthma attacks but has other health issues covering the whole life cycle from pre-natal to old age which are only now beginning to be recognised.
The Sustainability Institute study showed that the noise pollution created by traffic in the North and South Harbour regions frequently exceeds EU limits. Although its effects on the human organism are often overlooked, sound pollution can aggravate non-auditory health effects, causing increases in stress which can influence the incidence of stroke and coronary heart disease. Traffic emissions are also a leading source of greenhouse gasses which contribute to climate change.
The NGOs also highlight the fact that Transport Malta’s conclusions on MEPA traffic impact assessments often strive to favour developers. The Mistra Towers development is a case point: “The traffic situation in [Xemxija] is already so bad, that further development can’t make it much worse”. Such a short-sighted, biased approach is greatly increasing Malta’s traffic congestion problems. Worse still, the proposed “solutions” may themselves impact negatively on other aspects of the environment.
While the NGOs welcome the efforts being made to strengthen public transport, it came as a surprise to hear the Minister for Transport proposing more roads and car parks as a solution to the traffic crisis. The experience of other European countries shows that such measures as increasing roads and car parks are counter-productive as ultimately it only leads to more traffic.
The good news is that solutions are available; incentivising the use of school transport by subsidising transport fees would reduce the number of parents ferrying children to school. Increasing cycling lanes, accompanied by a consistent education drive to increase discipline on the road would encourage the use of bicycles and also help in the battle against obesity. Increasing use of water transport and the planting of roadside trees would reduce air and sound pollution, especially in urban areas.
The NGOs call on Transport Malta to take courageous decisions and implement policies that favour residents’ health and economic benefit on the traffic issue that has become one of Malta’s greatest problems.
Saturday 31st January 2015