The consultative document on the traffic management system in Valletta and Floriana is yet another step towards improving the situation in the capital city.
Everyone will agree that the way matters have evolved something needs to be done for many reasons, including for environment purposes and to protect historic buildings from further damage caused by pollution.
The park and ride scheme, that should be introduced as from April, coupled with the fact that parking in Valletta will now entail a fee, ought to make things better. Once the system is introduced, leaving one’s car in Blata l-Bajda and making use of the shuttle service to Valletta will be much cheaper than entering Valletta.
It has been said that the park and ride scheme will cost just 60 cents for one day, whereas drivers will be charged 30 cents for every half an hour for a maximum fee of Lm2.40 in the capital city. In Floriana, the maximum fee per day will be Lm1.80.
This is obviously being done to act as a deterrent, to push people away from deciding to park in Valletta and Floriana for long stretches. Workers who spend eight hours a day in an office there would think it over twice before leaving their cars all day in a Valletta street.
On the other hand, the parking spaces that are these days taken up by workers all through the day could be available for those people wanting to go shopping for a couple of hours or have lunch. In this case, the charges would be more reasonable because the time spent in Valletta would be much less.
What is important is that the shuttle service is efficient and reliable. Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said that at peak hours the maximum wait would be three minutes. We hope that this timetable will be strictly adhered to, as otherwise the exercise would not work out.
The abolition of the V licence for drivers wanting to have access to Valletta – and its replacement with a pay-per-use system – is also welcome. This is because, as things stand now, drivers who do not have the V licence – there are 160,000 such cars – feel discouraged to, say, go to the theatre or even have dinner in Valletta in the evening. With the introduction of the new measures, there is a possibility that more people would visit Valletta for entertainment purposes without risking a heavy fine.
One important item that must work to perfection is the software system that is being planned to charge drivers upon entering Valletta and Floriana. Investments Minister Austin Gatt said that people will not be charged doubly for entering Floriana and Valletta, while those making use of the MCP car park will also not be charged. Will this mean that those who leave their car at MCP will have to retain their receipts in order to avoid being charged “double”? Or will the software system “recognise” the cars that entered this parking area?
The shift of the monti open market to an area closer to the indoor market, leaving Merchants Street as part of the expanded pedestrian area, will make matters easier too. Monti hawkers might think that their place is being restricted and that they are being moved to a less accessible area, but on the whole the shift is only minimal and people who want to visit will still go. At the same time, the upper part of Merchants Street will not be clogged up during the morning, and by being converted into a pedestrian area it will become the “second” Republic Street.
During the press conference, Minister Gatt also mentioned the potential for ferry boat licences, increasing the utilisation of karozzini and plans for introducing electric taxis. All this should make Valletta more accessible and, at the same time, less congested.