Letters to the editor - January 6, 2023
The recent call for safer roads for vulnerable road users prompted the transport minister to promise a €35 million investment into a national cycle route network.
A positive step, and a much-needed one, vital to support Environment Minister Miriam Dalli’s aims towards more sustainable active transport. Especially following the exit stage right of NextBike.
Meanwhile, commuting cyclists are rightfully sceptical. You see, in reality the promised 60 to 90 kilometres of cycle lanes will just cover two to three per cent of the total road network. What happens on the other 97 per cent? After all cyclists don’t want to see another Kappara.
Few people know that the Bicycle Advocacy Group had asked for cycle lanes on Kappara years before it was built. Someone high up had issued a firm no, despite pointing out that cyclists used the (old) road, with its quite wide hard shoulders, safely for years.
An obvious progression from the Coast Road, eventually cyclists asked for a safer route through Gżira to Msida.
This too was turned down, but a single sided lane was proposed and facilitated wider and faster slip lanes (yes right next to the Enemalta sub-station), using dubious standards,...