The Malta Environment and Planning Authority board yesterday approved the extension of the park and ride facility at Horn Works in Floriana to cater for an additional 470 car parking spaces.

This extension has been brought about following the success of the current Floriana park and ride project which enabled the decrease of the volume of car journeys into Valletta, and therefore reduced the related environmental impacts of traffic congestion, air pollution and noise and the clutter of parked cars.

The site, which has a total area of approximately 15,500sq.m and which for the past years has been used as an open storage facility, will see the demolition of an existing building, a new lighting scheme for the parking area and replacement of the existing boundary wall structures, landscaping works and modifications to an existing public road, including the introduction of kerbs, a bus stop and two pedestrian crossings. The site to be used as a park and ride facility will be separated from the public road through the use of a hedge and additional landscaping including the removal of alien species as required by Mepa, and the planting of new trees and shrubs.

The park and ride facility will also cater for 11 car parking spaces for persons with a disability.

This project forms part of the Public Transport Reform and complements the measures outlined in the Air Quality Plan for the Maltese Islands which Mepa published last year. The plan outlines initiatives that aim to reduce vehicle emissions; to encourage a change in travelling patterns and habits; to reduce the traffic impact of new developments; to better manage the road network and to promote cleaner vehicle technologies.

Over the past months Mepa has approved a series of projects which continues to display Mepa’s commitment to the regeneration and urban upgrading of Malta’s Capital City.

Most prominent is the City Gate project which will transform and extensively enrich the entrance to Malta’s capital city and its surrounding environment with the construction of a new city gate, a Parliament building, a new pjazza and performing space at the site of the former Royal Opera House, as well as landscaping works along the ditch.

The over-populated bus terminus which has for years been an eye-sore at the entrance of Malta’s capital, will now be significantly downsized and relocated to the area below St James Counterguard.

Another interesting initiative that was given the green light by the Mepa board recently is the transportation project that provides an essential link between the waterfront and the city centre. The vertical connection will feature two panoramic passenger cabins side by side and will have a capacity to transport 800 passengers per hour.

All these initiatives are testament to the consistent concrete action that Mepa has undertaken to put in practice the local plan for Valletta which aims at strengthening Valletta’s role as a capital city, at encouraging its economic regeneration and at enhancing the city’s rural environment.

The Crown Works and Horns Works site is a historical site of utmost importance. All the walls and bastions forming part of this defensive system date back to the 17th and 18th century and as such contain critical historic features. The Crown Works and Horn Works Action Plan contain a thorough breakdown of the features of this complex of defences and the way that any interventions should be carried out.

The Brief studied a total area (including existing roads) of about 146,000m2.

Amongst others the Brief earmarks the site for two major projects, i.e. the park and ride facility and the Carnival Village project.

The park and ride facility will exploit the opportunities presented by the fact that the site lies adjacent to the main transport network, whilst the Carnival Village was intended to facilitate the relocation of those carnival workshops operating in Fort St Elmo.

The Brief also promotes the implementation of a Heritage Trail, an initiative that could be unlocked by the development of the park and ride facility.

The site proposed for development is designated as an open landscaped space, as per Crown Works / Horn Works Action Plan. The main principle followed regarding landscaping within the plan is that the area, through the presence of fortifications, has by its very nature to maintain the open space characteristic. Soft landscaping will be allowed and promoted only where this does not detract from the importance of the fortifications. Hard landscaping introduced for amenity purposes will be encouraged only if it is consonant with the general setting.

Transport Malta was requested to remove the originally proposed perimeter fencing, an existing structure and some of the non-indigenous trees, in view of the visual impact on the site. Furthermore, Transport Malta was also requested to include the area currently serving as an access to the park and ride, as part of the proposal in order to achieve an overall upgrade of the whole area.

The architect submitted fresh plans that included the removal of the existing structure and trees and the replacing of the boundary fencing with hedges. With respect to the overall upgrade of the whole area, the architect noted that Transport Malta will be upgrading the surroundings through the resurfacing of the adjacent access road and the reorganisation of parking.

During the discussion by the board, Joe Farrugia asked what happens to the water run-off. He was informed that an existing ditch will be cleaned and rehabilitated. The ditch forms part of the original fortifications system and communications with the main areas are all there.

Philip Manduca asked what is the building that will be pulled down. He was told this is a building partly used by ADT and partly by the White Brothers. It is a 1960s building with no redeeming feature.

New board member Petra Bianchi, Mepa’s new Environment Director, was present at her first board meeting yesterday.