Gerald Fenech
The Valletta Cable Car is undoubtedly one of the most controversial projects the Valletta Waterfront Group will undertake in the coming years, and has stirred up a hornet’s nest of pro and con arguments.
The Valletta Waterfront Group, better known as VISET, commissioned Adi Associates Environmental Consultants to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment to fulfil their obligations to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Here is a detailed summary of the environmental impact statement (EIS).
Introduction
VISET Malta applied to MEPA for the provision of a convenient, pollution free, rapid transport link between the Park and Ride in Floriana and Valletta, thus creating an easy and attractive vertical link between Valletta, Floriana and the Grand Harbour Waterfront. The project aims to operate alongside the Park & Ride and other projects as embodied in the Connections Project. Initial estimates of demand have indicated that there will be ample business for such an innovative project.
The cable car basically comprises three stations as follows: one at the La Galdiana fortifications on the crowned horn works on the outskirts of Floriana, a second one in Valletta in the car park between the Malta Stock Exchange and Castille Square and a third one at the Sea Passenger Terminal. Five pylons will support the ropeway; it will have 34 gondolas each seating six passengers. The cable car is capable of transporting more than 1,000 passengers per hour in each direction on a 6¼ minute ride from the Park and Ride to Valletta; one gondola will arrive in Valletta every 20 seconds, 18 hours a day every day.
The EIS concludes that the cable car is broadly congruent with MEPA policy and will bring a number of substantial fiscal and social benefits, apart from providing a unique perspective of the fortifications. The project will also reduce the number and effects of tourist buses transporting passengers to Valletta and will promote the economic viability of the Park & Ride.
The cable car project is also deemed to be congruent with MEPA’s policies as regards Landscape and Visual Amenity, and is not expected to cause significant effects as regards noise, light and vibration. If anything, these will be limited to the construction phase.
Background
Travel between Valletta Waterfront and the City has always been difficult. Stairs, tunnels, roads and gates were introduced by the Knights and the British and later, the Barrakka Lift was constructed. The lift ceased operations in 1973 and was dismantled 10 years later. Although the majority of the Knight’s access routes survive today, most of them are not suitable for vehicles and, due to the advent of the motor vehicle, people prefer not to walk.
Although Valletta enjoys excellent vehicle access, the lack of parking and the sheer numbers of people entering the city (estimated to be around 13.7 million annually) requires the implementation of alternative, environmentally friendly ways to access the capital.
The government has taken various initiatives in this area such as seeking to reintroduce the Barrakka Lift, the initial road works associated with the Park & Ride facility have commenced and the concepts embodied in the Connections project are under active re-consideration.
The Cable Car
The cable car will have three stations at La Galdiana Fortifications (Drive Station), the Sea Passenger Terminal (Intermediate Station) and the Valletta station in the car park between the Malta Stock Exchange and Castile Square (Return or tension station). Eight pylons suspend the ropeway, two of which are an integral part of the SPT station and one which is integral to the Valletta Station. The others are located as follows:
Pylon 1: Beside Triq Belt il-Hazna, 150 metres from the threshold of the La Galdiana Station.
Pylon 2: Between the Cargo Shed and Triq Pinto
Pylon 3: On the Valletta side of the SPT station
Pylon 4: In the public garden on Crucifix Bastion
Pylon 5: On the Central Bank side of Triq Gerolamo Cassar road bridge.
The Route:
The route is 1.4 km long and passes over the fortifications on the southern shores of Floriana and Valletta. The change in elevation of the route is of 47 metres between the station in Valletta and the ground level at SPT Station, and 24 metres between the Waterfront and La Galdiana Station.
The route is located within or in close proximity to Grade 1 scheduled property and the choice of the route and location of the stations and pylons was based on availability of space at each end of the ropeway to accommodate the stations and the environmental and cultural heritage importance of the Floriana/Valletta area. A number of station / pylon locations were considered and discarded because of the impacts on cultural heritage, and work is on going to further reduce the impacts. Construction of the cable car, most of which will take place off site, is estimated to last around 11 months.
Justification:
Mainly the cable car is intended to serve the Sea Passenger Terminal, the tourist industry and cross-harbour commuters. It is being viewed as a means to overcome the vertical separation between Valletta and the waterfront, encourage the provision of cross harbour ferry services, reduce the numbers and effects of tourist buses, provide tourist attractions and encourage the establishment and use of a heritage trail in Floriana. It is also intended to serve the Park & Ride system as a rapid transit people mover from Floriana to Valletta.
However, since the cable car would not meet the needs of all Park & Ride users because of several factors such as rider disposition, transport outside the cable car’s operating hours and inclement weather, the role of the cable car as a people mover must be viewed largely in conjunction with the road based shuttle system.
Planning Policy:
Policy justification for the cable car principally rests on three policy documents – the Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands (1990), the Grand Harbour Local Plan (2002) and the Crown Works/Horn Works Action Plan (2001).
Although the Structure Plan does not address the need for a cable car system to serve Valletta per se, it does refer to the control of vehicular traffic and the need for a safer and more congenial environment for pedestrians. It also calls for the introduction of a high-speed public transportation system to serve Valletta/Floriana and the provision of interconnections between various modes of transport, including the sea-land interface. Structure Plan Policy PTR 10 provides for the introduction of a Park & Ride system (and therefore some form of mass people mover). Taken together, these policies provide policy justification for the cable car.
The Grand Harbour Local Plan advocates greater priority to public transport while discouraging traffic penetration into residential areas through the introduction of local traffic management measures with the development of a Park & Ride facility seen as a major project to reduce road congestion. It also aims to provide better access between the harbour and the city and also promotes new attractions and facilities. There is also policy justification through support of measures to improve connections between Grand Harbour and central Valletta.
With regard to the Crown Works/Horn Works Action Plan, this concentrates specifically on a strategy based on electric buses, ignoring the possibility of a cable car system probably due to the fact that the Plan preceded the cable car concept. Due to the recent failure of the bus system to attract funding, the adoption of the cable car system could be vital to the realisation of the Park & Ride proposals.
Demand
The demand for the cable car is based on the following:
During commuter peak hours the cable car would primarily serve the Park & Ride facility
During off-peak hours the cable car will operate to all stations with demand arising from recreational users and shoppers (Valletta and the Waterfront) using the Park & Ride facility particularly in the afternoons and weekends, cruise ship passengers and tourists.
Impacts on the Park & Ride system:
The demand estimates described above resulted in an estimated annual commuter demand for 328,600 one-way trips between the Park & Ride and Valletta. With the introduction of the cable car, shuttle bus commuter ridership would be 151,000 or about 500 passengers daily. This would require, for example, a fleet of 12 mini shuttle buses with 14-passenger capacity. It is also clear that the cable car would need to be taken into account in the government’s forthcoming tender for the Park & Ride, as there is considerable scope for the two facilities to share ticketing machines and adopt common pricing. In view of these ridership estimates, there is also a clear opportunity for cross-subsidisation of fares, which would allow commuters to park all day at the Park & Ride and travel to Valletta on the cable car for a very modest fee.
Social impacts
These include the provision of a reliable, non-polluting rapid transport system from the Park & Ride facility to the Valletta Waterfront and Valletta, reduction in the number of vehicles entering Valletta with consequent reductions in traffic congestion and pollution, a new vantage point to admire Grand Harbour and its fortifications, an opportunity to augment the proposed heritage trail and the provision of a new recreational pursuit and tourist attraction.
Environmental Impact Statement:
Significance of Impacts:
Assessment of the significance of impacts arising from the project is a key stage in the EIA process. The following criteria were used to assess the significance of an impact:
• Type of impact (adverse/beneficial)
• Extent and magnitude of impact
• Direct or indirect impact
• Duration of impact (short term/long term; permanent/temporary)
• Reversibility of impact
• Comparison with legal requirements, policies and standards
The impacts were then assessed on a three-point scale of no significance, minor significance and major significance. If an impact is of no significance, it is environmentally acceptable, minor significance indicates that the impact is manageable, and major significance means that the impact is environmentally damaging and requires redesign or further mitigation measures.
Findings
The principal findings of the EIS are that the cable car will result in minor to not significant impacts on cultural heritage, landscape and visual amenity, and impacts in respect of noise, light and vibration will not be significant except for minor short-term noise arising from piling at the waterfront during the construction of Pylon 3.
Cultural Heritage
The EIS highlighted the importance of the cultural heritage features that lie beneath the route and the new perspectives that would result from the cable car.
Cultural heritage in the harbour area is the result of over five centuries of construction, mainly related to military installations and the evolution of artillery, superimposed by industrial and urban development. The main types of heritage are fortifications, industrial and civil buildings. Over 60 individual cultural heritage features were recorded, described and assessed with many of them being classified as Grade 1 or would qualify for Grade 1 protection.
Fortifications
The Valletta fortifications are mainly a product of the 16th century with subsequent additions in later centuries resulting from the Knights’ need to maintain the fortifications of Valletta. The Floriana fortifications were built in the 17th century with further additions throughout the 18th century. Further consolidation took place throughout the British period and alterations continued unabated up to the 20th century.
The harbour fortifications are spread over a relatively small area and have generally been affected by some kind of pressure, with most of the damage inflicted during the Second World War and through urban and industrial development. However, even with increased air pollution, sea spray effects and other attrition factors, none of the fortifications have lost their original architectural definition. But there has been a level of encroachment on the original designs although the fortifications overlooking the harbour have remained the most clearly defined and have retained their original relationship to the waterfront.
Waterfront developments
The Grand Harbour waterfront includes a number of warehousing facilities dating from the 18th century, which are outstanding examples of their era and are currently being restored. Although Pinto Stores was severely damaged in the Second World War, their facades have been recently reconstructed and the buildings are a continuation of the maritime history of Valletta and Floriana and their intimate link to Grand Harbour.
Additionally, over the past four centuries various parts of Valletta and Floriana have been modified to house new constructions and uses ranging from ecclesiastical buildings to offices, public gardens and hospitals.
Impacts on Cultural Heritage
The EIS indicated that the physical impact of the cable car on cultural heritage features identified is expected to be minimal in view of the small footprint of the interventions and the limited duration of the construction works. No additional effects on cultural heritage are expected during operation of the cable car.
From the above, it is evident that the physical impact of the cable car will be contained and limited to minor interventions.
Cultural landscape
The harbour fortifications are themselves evidence of extensive modifications carried out in the past. The introduction of the cable car will add to this modification through the superimposition of a contemporary feature that is not unlike (in landscape terms) what was already undertaken in the past decades and centuries in the Grand Harbour area. The insertion of a cable car with vertical pylons and connecting ropeways/gondolas will change the landscape but this change will be congruent with the vertical elements of the harbour.
The EIS shows that although the physical impact of the cable car on the cultural heritage will be contained, it concludes that the insertion of such an alien feature would be detrimental to the cultural landscape because, like many other Maltese landscapes, it is perceived as ‘frozen in time’. However, it also points out that the cable car is broadly congruent with policy, provides a novel way to view cultural heritage and would allow more people to appreciate it. On balance, therefore, the EIS concludes that the impact resulting from the insertion of the cable car into the cultural landscape is
neutral.
The next steps
The process for consultation with NGOs and government departments came to an end on Monday 28th March. MEPA will now collate the comments made and send them back to the EIA consultants for comments and response. The consultants will then amend the EIA accordingly, if need be. Once MEPA is satisfied that the EIA meets the Terms of Reference, then they will certify same and advertise the said EIA for public consultation.
This will take around a month and after the end of that period there will be a public meeting chaired by MEPA where the EIA consultants will describe same and the public will make their own comments. MEPA will then summarise the public comments and pass them on to the EIA consultants who will further amend the EIA accordingly.
At the end of this process, the EIA goes to the MEPA Case Officer who will prepare the DPA Report, which is then forwarded to the MEPA board for a decision. Following that, the developers have the right to appeal if the project is refused. Alternatively, if it is approved, third parties may appeal if they had objected to the project in the initial two weeks of consultations.
Conclusions
The Cable Car Project is definitely an important step if further chaos is to be avoided at the Valletta waterfront with passenger demand clearly exceeding supply. With the Cruise Liner industry switching to ships capable of carrying three times the number of passengers of today’s ships, the cable car is a needed transport alternative besides the taxis, karozzini, buses and other modes of transport to Valletta.
The project will also encourage cross harbour ferries where one can make the trip to Valletta in just 15 minutes, considering that it takes at least half-an-hour stuck in traffic or on a bus. It is also a much more pleasant mode of transport.
Finally, with the loss of funding for electric shuttle vehicles, the cable car could very well be the saving of the Park and Ride project making it more than just a common parking area.