Updated 2.15pm, adds Rota statement

Infrastructure Malta is constructing a tidal lane system in Għadira that will allow traffic coming from the Gozo ferry during peak hours to flow through two lanes instead of one, the roads agency chief told Times of Malta.

A tidal lane system changes the direction of traffic on one lane to maximise the capacity of the road.

When the area becomes overwhelmed with traffic from the ferry and from Armier, the northbound fast lane will close for vehicles going to Ċirkewwa and open for vehicles coming from Gozo.

That way, vehicles will be directed to use that lane as well and rejoin the southbound lane at the Danish Village roundabout, from where the road will be wide enough to accommodate four lanes again.

Speaking to Times of Malta in Għadira yesterday, Infrastructure Malta CEO Ivan Falzon said the system will address people’s concerns that traffic coming from Gozo during peak hours will get stuck for hours on end at Għadira.

Slow and furious

As part of the major road rebuilding in Għadira, Infrastructure Malta has reduced the southbound road to one lane to improve safety at the popular beach. But the decision has left hundreds of motorists fuming as they snarled past the beach in rush hour traffic after returning from Gozo or Armier.

The congestion was particularly bad last Sunday and the previous Sunday afternoon, when drivers reported being stuck in Għadira for an hour before they reached the Mellieħa bypass.

But Falzon said the congestion on those two Sundays was not caused by the one-lane system, but rather because vehicles are currently forced to take an s-shaped diversion at the Danish Village roundabout and another diversion in front of the Seabank Hotel, due to the fact that works on a substantial stretch of the road are not yet completed.

That is also why the tidal lane system, which he said had been planned from the very beginning of the project, cannot begin.

He said the tidal lane system will probably only be used on some Sundays in the afternoon and following long weekends or public holidays when extraordinary waves of vehicles cross over to the mainland. But other than that, the one-lane system should suffice.

“Traffic going southbound comes in bouts of around 140 cars that rush through the road in a span of a few minutes whenever the Gozo ferry docks and unloads vehicles in Ċirkewwa. For the rest of the time, the southbound road is almost completely inactive,” he said.

“Conversely, it is still necessary to have two lanes heading to Ċirkewwa as it is usually impossible to predict how many vehicles will head to Gozo and at what times. The two lanes also serve to avoid traffic getting stuck behind slow-moving vehicles going up the hill to Armier.”

Road narrowed to increase safety

Falzon said the southbound road was also narrowed to reduce driving speeds around the beach as parts of the road were “fast becoming an accident blackspot, with several near misses, serious and fatal accidents”. He defended Infrastructure Malta’s decision to remove all parking spaces from the northbound lane and move them to the other side of the road, by the beach.

Parking was too dangerous on the northbound side and it made more sense to transfer all parking spaces on the other side of the road to allow for safer access to the beach.

The ‘safe lane’

Infrastructure Malta also devised a ‘safe lane’ running down the southbound lane, Falzon explained, separating the road from the parking spaces to act as a bicycle lane but also as a space where cars can wait to slide into a parking space and to provide a safe buffer zone for people loading and unloading beach equipment from their car boots.

“If you’re reversing out of a parking spot, you will have enough space to manoeuvre the car without going onto the main traffic lane,” he said.

“And if someone else just arrived and wants to take your spot after you leave, they can wait for you on the safe lane without stopping the moving traffic.”

‘Half-baked solution’ – NGO

On Monday, NGO Rota described Infrastructure Malta’s decision to remove a car lane as a “half-baked” solution that “does not change the car-centric nature of the road and fails at providing alternatives to driving in the gained space”.

The NGO put forward two designs that offer alternatives to how the road could have been devised. The designs retain all traffic lanes in each direction while also incorporating strips of greenery and lanes for cyclists.

But Falzon said the width of the NGO’s proposed vehicle lanes is below the national minimum standard required to ensure road safety. The NGO’s proposed width is three metres, but the minimum standard is 3.2 metres, he said.

‘My son asks if it’s worth it’

Crossing the road from one side of the Għadira roadworks to the other side, Falzon joked about how sometimes motorists get so angry at him and Infrastructure Malta that he fears they will want to run him over.

His own friends sometimes ask him whether he is taking the best possible decisions, he admitted.

“My teenage son sometimes asks me whether it’s worth doing this job, with all the criticism that comes with it,” he said.

“I still think it’s worth being in a position to design projects for the common good and seeing workers coming together to make the country a better place.”

Għadira Bay is currently a construction zone, as works continue on an €8 million embellishment project covering the promenade and the road from the Seabank Hotel roundabout to the roundabout near the red tower.

Infrastructure Malta plans to open the southbound route by this Saturday before works eventually stop for the summer.

The final phase will begin in October and focus on completing the promenade furniture and finishings but will include a final road rebuilding on the northbound stretch from the Seabank Hotel to the Danish Village. 

The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Rota statement

In a statement on Wednesday, Rota expressed "deep concern" at the proposal to introduce a "safe lane" in Għadira, intended for use as a bicycle lane.

IM's Falzon, it said, put forth the notion that this designated "safe lane" would actually serve as a waiting area for cars to double park while waiting for available parking spaces or unloading their belongings. 

He also asserted that this lane would enable cars to reverse out of parking spaces without impeding traffic flow.

This line of thinking, Rota said, presented numerous issues.

"How can we genuinely promote a lane for bicycles when it is already being advertised as a place to double park while waiting for parking?

"Furthermore, what about cyclists heading towards Cirkewwa?

"This proposal seems to be nothing more than an instance of greenwashing, creating a false perception of safety and feigning efforts to support cycling on the islands," it said.