No changes to traffic systems should be made without exploring alternatives and without making all the facts that are available for scrutiny by residents, Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo said yesterday.

Speaking in Swieqi, Dr Vassallo said that traffic problems are caused by the routing of traffic from other localities.

“If the traffic war is fought street by street, every battle will be lost and finally the whole war. Swieqi and the rest of the country need a comprehensive urban mobility strategy,” Dr Vassallo said.

He continued: “Swieqi residents who do not want more traffic in their streets must be prepared to look at the wider picture and see what is causing an increase in traffic.”

He added that while Swieqi residents are adamant in resisting the “Gzirafication” of their locality, the Greens have a vision which will not only tend to reduce traffic in Swieqi but will also improve the quality of life for residents in Gzira and other areas.

He said that spreading out the traffic burden to several streets is only a short-term solution and has been proved to be a losers’ strategy.

“High rise and high intensity development in Sliema, St Julian’s and Gzira as well as the effect of many minor projects will also affect Swieqi residents. The inconvenience experienced because of the repairs to the Manwel Dimech bridge are likely to become a permanent feature once the traffic generated by these projects runs into that to be generated by the new hospital at Tal-Qroqq,” Dr Vassallo said.