Pedestrianisation is always a contentious topic. Many support the idea of prioritising street space exclusively or mainly for pedestrian use, while others are against the idea altogether.
In an interview with Times of Malta, Antoine Zammit, a spatial planning and urban design expert, argues that efforts to make streets more pedestrian-friendly are a positive step but need to be paired with unpopular decisions by the government.
Zammit was the lead architect behind the partial pedestrianisation of Mosta Square, which was initially planned to be closed to cars on weekends.
After a backlash from residents and the local council, which opposed any plans to restrict traffic, Transport Malta ordered the square to be pedestrianised only during limited hours at the weekend.
Public support for pedestrianisation schemes must be strong to ensure that the change in the local political leadership of a city does not lead to the reopening of pedestrianised areas to car traffic.
The pedestrianisation of streets in town and city centres can have safety, environmental and economic benefits, contributing to lower noise and air pollution levels and promoting walking by making experiences for visitors more enjoyable.
Sadly, we have few pedestrianised zones in this country to really understand their benefits.
Since people are accustomed to cars driving through their localities, Zammit said any proposal for change would likely face backlash.
“If people experience car-free areas, they will start to demand more of them,” he said. And he is right.
Can anyone imagine Valletta’s Merchants Street or Sliema’s Bisazza Street reopened to traffic?
But of course there are also some downsides to pedestrianisation.
It can cause traffic build-up in streets near the pedestrianised areas, some of which are not built for heavy traffic. It can cause longer commutes and higher emissions in other areas.
Zammit argues: “You should not pass through a locality and its local roads just to try to get somewhere faster. Frankly, we should make it more difficult for people to do that.” He adds that this can be achieved by removing parking spaces or forcing drivers to pay.
Given policymakers’ reluctance to challenge Malta’s deep-rooted car culture, it is unlikely that authorities will act on Zammit’s recommendation.
We will always applaud the authorities when they create greener and more pedestrian-friendly spaces.
Initiatives like Vjal Kulħadd (Everyone’s Boulevard) are the kind of respite needed in a country besotted with building everywhere.
But such initiatives alone are also not enough.
The community continues to experience the adverse effects of monetising public land facilities that limit their unencumbered access to the public.
Restricting car traffic for a given road initially has low financial and administrative implications. However, the implementation costs and consequences concerning shifts in traffic flow patterns will need to be considered.
Alternative means of transport to pedestrianised areas also need to be considered to cater for those who are less mobile.
Promoting active mobility requires additional investment, such as better street lighting, tactile pavements that are always kept in a good state of repair, and high standards of street cleanliness.
Pedestrianisation will always be a daunting task in the context of strategy inertia that fails to address the adverse consequences of the endemic overdevelopment of our towns, the continued emphasis on increasing the volume of commercial activities and the weak political will to invest in people’s well-being.
The pedestrianisation of certain areas in our towns will only succeed when transparency, regular community engagement, monitoring and evaluation are hardwired into implementing such schemes.