It was either a Freudian slip or an intelligent remark when, unveiling seven ‘green’ initiatives, the Nationalist Party’s environment spokesperson said “we need concrete proposals”.
Concrete and cement are certainly not missing in this country. Green lungs are.
Trees are uprooted to make way for bigger roads, flyovers and junctions, which, in turn, beget more vehicles. The resultant noise and pollution continue taking their toll on public health.
Children who participated in a study on how to make localities more child-friendly reflected the voice of society.
Traffic and construction are actively encroaching on their play areas and social spaces, polluting them with noise, dust and fumes, they complained.
More safe spaces and green areas where they can practise physical activities or sport is what they want, especially football grounds and public parks.
Instead, what they get are promises and rhetoric on how this country will make everybody green with envy as it embarks on its environment-friendly programme. The culmination – more surprises may yet have to come – was the €1.5 million ‘investment’ in a garden atop a parking area on a roundabout. A carcinogenic ‘green lung’.
The state-run roads agency has been harshly criticised, particularly on environmental grounds, because of the manner in which it bulldozed its way ahead with some of its projects, especially in rural areas.
Its former chief executive officer, Fredrick Azzopardi, was even charged with violating environment protection laws when, in 2019, the agency defied a stop and compliance notice over illegal works at Wied Qirda, in Żebbuġ.
It was, however, a relief to read of an attempt by the newly-headed Infrastructure Malta to make key roads truly pedestrian-friendly. New CEO Ivan Falzon appears to want to make amends, judging by one of his first initiatives. He has asked councils to list roads they believe need to be rebuilt, with each locality handed a tailor-made square metreage of road rebuilding it is eligible for.
Infrastructure Malta is committed to developing the equivalent of at least 10 per cent of each locality’s allocated metreage into alternative mobility roads, with segregated paths for pedestrians or cyclists, the agency footing the additional costs of such works.
Falzon needs all the support and cooperation he can get for such an initiative, especially from local councils who need to understand the need to create more open spaces. It was also healthy to hear him say that, in upgrading rural roads to ensure better access, Infrastructure Malta could consider alternatives to concrete and tarmac, such as geocell concrete and other innovative paving.
The quest for alternative transport modes, pedestrianisation, cycling and jogging lanes needs to be all-encompassing and ongoing if efforts to drastically cut the use of private vehicles and encourage more people to engage in sports and/or physical activity are to be as successful as they should be.
The fact that, statistically, at least, Malta has registered the largest drop in Europe in the number of people who “never” exercise can be a step in the right direction.
However, the island, which has long been struggling with low physical activity and high obesity rates, often continues to top international league tables for excessive weight.
The FunFit 5 pilot project for schoolchildren could help address the lack of exercise and overweight issues among students. Still, this country is far from instilling that mentality, among children and adults alike, that they need to move more to ensure a better quality of life. Getting there is proving to be no walk in the park.