After one year in operation, the Park and Ride facility in Blata l-Bajda has proven successful in every aspect, the Roads Ministry said yesterday.
The Blata l-Bajda Park and Ride is providing efficient services to those families who go to Valletta to do their Christmas shopping and for other Christmas-related activities. The Transport Authority (ADT) is ensuring that the shuttle service running between Valletta and Blata l-Bajda is frequent and consistent even in the evening.
The government has invested around Lm800,000 in the facility, which involved the principal parking in Hornworks and Crownworks Ditch, as well as the extension of the side-parking in National Road in Blata l-Bajda. These works also included the infrastructural upgrading of principal roads, such as the Blata l-Bajda and National Road flyover, leading to the Park and Ride area and the surrounding landscapes.
While the main parking started operating on 6 November, 2006, the ADT completed extension works on this project this summer. This parking started operating on 12 September 2007. In all the two sites can hold up to 1,130 parking lots, 880 in the original Park and Ride and around 250 in the extension on National Road.
“Nowadays everyone realizes that the Park and Ride was a successful experiment which is functioning in the most efficient manner despite the great scepticism on its modus operandi from diverse fronts,” Jesmond Mugliett, Urban Development and Roads Minister, said.
Thousands of persons are using the service, particularly during their working hours. The Park and Ride in Blata l-Bajda, and the controlled vehicular access system, have improved accessibility to Valletta, which last May became accessible to every vehicle, without discrimination.
From observations made by the ADT, the main Park and Ride is full during working hours until 5.30pm. On Saturdays the occupancy rate of the spaces available rises to an average of around 80 per cent until 2pm, while on Sundays this rate declines to around 10 per cent of the spaces available in the parking area. From these observations, it results that the main Park and Ride accommodates between 1,500 and 2,000 persons every day, on working days.
The success of the Blata l-Bajda Park and Ride project has led the government to work on another, to ease traffic in the Paceville and St Julian’s area. This has started operating on a temporary basis for the Christmas period between Pembroke and Paceville.
This project has found the approval of those who visit Paceville and St Julian’s in the evening, particularly at weekends, those commercial entities in the area, and the Pembroke and St Julian’s local councils.
People can park their vehicles in the ex-parade grounds, near the Luxol in Pembroke, from where a direct public transport service can take them to the bus station in Paceville and back. This arrangement will remain in operation until 6 January.
The government has said that after the festivities this service will start operating permanently throughout the year.
Between today and Christmas Eve the public transport services on a time-table will be free of charge between 5.30am and 10.30pm. This is the first time in the history of public transport services where the service is free of charge to ease traffic congestion and improve road security.