There has never been any shortage of talk from Transport Malta, Infrastructure Malta and the Ministry of Transport concerning the creation and imminent arrival of an ever-safer transport infrastructure to promote a modal shift towards walking and cycling.

TM’s Road Safety Strategy Malta 2014-2024, for example, sets out the objective “to ensure that safe design for pedestrians and cyclists are included in new transport schemes”.

In the years following the publication of this strategy, several major road upgrades have been implemented, prompting the expectation that such upgrades should embody such objectives. Judging from the walk rather than the talk, however, the opposite holds.

The upgrade to Buqana Road between Mosta and Mġarr to Mtarfa illustrates the point nicely. The project began in 2018 and was completed during the period 2019-2020 at a cost of about €3.6 million. The work included the redesign of roundabouts at the two ends of this road to include bypass lanes and cycle lanes, together with the addition of a second northbound lane from Mtarfa to Mosta and a cycle track in the same direction.

Announcements claimed that the upgrade would improve road safety to and from the northern part of Malta, while reducing travel times by 36 per cent.

Let’s start with the roundabout close to Mdina. The first picture (Photo 1) shows what confronts the pedestrian attempting to cross from the Mdina side (right of picture) to the cemetery on the Ta’ Qali side (behind the lorry on the left): six lanes of fast-moving traffic. Four of these lanes are the heavily used dual carriageway. There is no provision at all for pedestrians, so crossing this road is a game of Russian roulette.

The second (Photo 2) picture illustrates the extreme danger faced by a cyclist attempting to negotiate the cycle lane around the periphery of the roundabout. The design here is such that conflict with heavy traffic entering from the right – as shown – is inevitable, unrelenting and entirely predictable.

But all is not told. Further down the road towards Mosta is another demonstration of conflict created by a poor engineering design that is devoid of the most basic common sense. The next photo shows why:  the cycle lane ends abruptly where the road narrows. There is a complete absence of signage to warn either cyclists or motorists of their converging and conflicting paths.

Crossing this road is a game of Russian roulette- Michael Rosner

The cyclist cannot easily look behind and check because the path is very narrow and there is a severe risk of collision with bollards/armadillos.

The pavement at that point is 10cm high and cannot be accessed while moving since sloped access has not been provided. The option of walking on the pavement is inhibited by a pavement which is not wide enough to accommodate cyclist and bicycle. These factors compel the cyclist to join the carriageway where, as can be seen, there is a serious risk of collision with a fast-moving heavy vehicle.

Cyclists who overcome this hazard must nevertheless pass over a series of drain covers which are uneven enough to unseat a rider en route to Mosta. They have been steadily deteriorating since the road was opened – an accident waiting to happen.

The next roundabout (Photo 3) caters only for cyclists turning left toward Mġarr. The cyclist at A, wishing to go straight has to reach the middle cycle lane at B, when there is again fast-moving traffic at C and D juggling to change lanes.

Clearly, the cyclist has to check what is coming up behind but is again faced with the problem of swivelling 180 degrees, risking collision with armadillos. The only other alternative is to dismount and either cross the lane on foot or proceed left and attempt the crossing at the first opportunity, only to be confronted by another five lanes of traffic without a crossing or signage.

In summary, these observations reveal persistent design flaws that are in sharp contradiction to TM’s stated Road Safety Strategy, and frankly it is difficult to see how people calling themselves professionals can permit infrastructures that demonstrate such a striking level of disengagement with the basic – and obvious – needs of road users.

Luckily, if the professionals are unable to put their own strategies into practice, there is no shortage of common sense – and expertise – outside their ranks. NGOs are generally very willing to offer constructive criticism, but it takes commitment to listen, learn and adapt on the part of the so-called competent authorities for the walk to match the talk.

Michael Rosner is a lecturer at the University of Malta.