10-year aim to reduce number of traffic fatalities, accidents

The government was considering measures aimed at reducing traffic fatalities by as much as 50 per cent, as well as reducing the number of accidents, over the next 10 years, Transport Minister Censu Galea said.

He did not elaborate.

The initiative forms part of the ministry's recent accession to the European Conference of Ministers of Transport and its strong commitment towards the harmonisation of road transport standards with that of the EU's acquis communautaire.

Figures released by the National Statistics Office show that in the first quarter of this year there were 3,307 reported traffic accidents, an increase of 254 or 8.3 per cent over the same quarter last year.

These statistics show that 64 people sustained serious injuries and, of these, two men died.

Meanwhile, traffic fatalities between 1999 and 2001 remained at an average of 12 each year. The highest number of traffic fatalities was recorded in 1992 when 24 people died.

Malta has the highest per capita number of vehicles in Europe, with 630 vehicles per 1,000 citizens, which is one of the factors contributing to the number of accidents, Mr Galea said.

Mr Galea said the government was committed to improving road safety and sustainable transport which will be accessible to all.

"Work is being carried out at a national level to bring about a shift from the private car back to the public transport service, by introducing a number of improvements," he said.

Mr Galea said that by the end of the year a number of traditional Malta buses would be replaced by fully accessible, low-emission buses.

He was speaking at the start of a two-day seminar, organised by Valletta local council, with the theme 'New initiatives meeting local mobility needs: ACCESS' members working with Europe'.

Valletta became a member of ACCESS, the Eurocities for a New Mobility Culture organisation, three years ago.

The seminar, being held for the first time in Malta, was held at the Casino Maltese in Valletta. It brings together ACCESS members from 11 cities across Europe.

Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier said Valletta had established itself as a pioneer through Car Free Day and the Mobility Week organised in September.

The council had introduced the concept of making Valletta a car-free city for one day in 2000 on a voluntary basis.

Valletta last year joined 1,500 other European cities and several streets were closed to traffic on the day. The closure was compulsory last year due to the reluctance of Maltese drivers to enter the city on foot voluntarily.

This idea of giving the streets back to people for one day of the year proved so successful that this year more councils have jumped on the bandwagon.

The parliamentary secretary in the Environment Ministry, George Pullicino, said that to date 17 local councils had pledged their participation in the European Mobility Week, which includes Car Free Day on September 22.

These councils are: Attard, Birkirkara, Floriana, Iklin, Mellieha, Mosta, Naxxar, San Gwann, St Julian's, Sta Lucija, St Paul's Bay, Sta Venera, Siggiewi, Sliema, Swieqi, Valletta and Vittoriosa.

"Talks are still being held with a number of other councils, so more could still opt to take part," Mr Pullicino said.

"This is a marked improvement on last year's activities, and it shows the government's commitment to raise public awareness on the negative effects that traffic can have on our daily lives," he continued.

Dr Borg Olivier pushed hard to see the concept introduced in Valletta and to raise awareness about the damage that the daily influx of 20,000 vehicles wreaked on the historical buildings and lives of the residents.

"Though families may live in comfortable homes, the space around them may still be sub-standard, suffocated with congested, irregular car parking, excessive traffic on the streets and less recreational space," he said.

Mr Pullicino said that traffic in Malta was increasing at the rate of 33 new cars every day, which meant there were over 12,000 new vehicles on the road each year.

The government was encouraging the use of electric cars in an attempt to reduce pollution and in its last budget it had drastically reduced the registration on these vehicles to 16.5 per cent from 60 per cent.

The park-and-ride system between Floriana and Valletta, which will hopefully be up and running by the end of next year, should also be instrumental in reducing the number of cars that enter the city.

Mr Pullicino said that last week the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had given the green light to upgrade and construct five junctions along the route.

The park-and-ride system would function from the Hornworks and Crown ditch in Floriana, where a car park taking 950 cars is expected to be built.

Motorists can then get to the city by hopping onto a small, electrically powered medium-sized bus, which will leave the car park every six minutes.

Part of this project is being funded by the EU's Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Development.