"Traffic is a real problem for our country which didn't start now," Shadow Minister for Transport, Marthese Portelli said this evening during her speech on the adjournment in parliament. She began by quoting praise given to the PN by a number of social partners.

The PN's first endorsement was from the General Workers' Union which said that the document is a positive one with proposals which can be taken on immediately. This sentiment was shared by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Malta Employers' Association, The Chamber of Commerce, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, the General Retailers and Traders Union, and also Saviour Agius speaking on behalf of cyclists in Malta.

The MHRA specifically said that the document is no rhetoric, but includes actual logical solutions, while the MEA said that the proposals came through common sense and public consultation. The Chamber of Commerce believes that the proposals should immediately be discussed further, while the GRTU pointed out the positivity of the document full of incentives rather than taxes, fines and disincentives.

Dr Portelli, although saying that she did not wish to criticize the PL, but instead focus more on the document, said that when the PL ridiculed the proposals, they weren't only ridiculing the PN, but also all the social partners who fully endorsed it. The government, Dr Portelli said, had a "golden occasion to open doors for discussion", but instead chose to go in another direction.

The Shadow Minister also gave a brief walkthrough of the entire document breaking it into its four main pillars: 'Quality of Information', 'Target Commuter Segments', 'Infrastructural Investment', and 'Planning and Management'.

Regarding the first pillar, Dr Portelli insisted that it is a shame that our country doesn't actually have access to information regarding where and when people are driving and what's happening on the road in terms of what's being transported and how best to tackle certain routes. "Right decisions cannot be taken without having this information in hand."

About Commuter Segments, Dr Portelli specifically mentioned free transport to school children and a revision of the current school transport systems to incentivize parents to choose not to take their children personally to school as well as putting their minds at rest that their children are being well looked-after.

Mentioning the PL critique on PL's media outlets that the PN's proposals are going to remove the 'teleworking' incentive, Dr Portelli pointed out that this was a lie. In fact, the document says that the current scheme should be made even better while adding another system to improve on it.

When it comes to Infrastructural Investment, one particular issue which Dr Portelli spoke about was making the most out of the road space which Malta has by making sure that all obstacles like roundabouts, centre strips, etc be reconsidered depending on whether their roles have changed over the years. Shaving mere seconds off each commuter's trip due to these little incentives will have a large effect when you look at the bigger picture, Dr Portelli insisted. Proper traffic light calibration was also mentioned at this point.

Finally regarding the 'Planning and Management' pillar, Dr Portelli said that an IT system common for all concerned bodies, be it the police force, traffic wardens, local councils and other, is necessary to ensure maximum efficiency in the entire sector.

The document was launched last Wednesday, read more:

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-05-18/local-news/PN-slams-lack-of-roadwork-management-plan-stresses-importance-for-effective-traffic-planning-6736158047