The saga surrounding the Central Link project, which is aimed at easing traffic flow in the area in and around Attard, seems to have largely died down but the Environment and Resources Authority has again raised a number of serious concerns about the project.

In a report issued earlier this week, the ERA expressed concern at the number of trees that are set to be chopped down, the large tracts of agricultural land that will be lost forever, the huge amount of construction waste that will be generated and, most importantly, the effectiveness of the project given the ever-increasing number of cars on the roads.

The authority did not mince its words about this: “There is clear evidence that new or expanded roads rapidly fill with displaced or induced traffic, offsetting any short-term gains in eased traffic flows," it said, placing in doubt the viability of the multi-million euro project.

While doing nothing is not an option, since the area would become completely gridlocked by 2028, widening the roads is not enough, the authority said. Projects aimed at combating congestion should find a way to sustainably and effectively reduce dependence on car transport, the report reads.

The argument that ERA made in its latest report is not new. It is clear for many of us that, with the alarming number of new cars that are put on the roads with every passing day, such projects will be rendered worthless in the years to come.

Hundreds of millions are being spent on new road infrastructure. Yes, the short-term effects are being felt as traffic flow has improved marginally in some of these areas and the projects themselves are being managed in a very efficient manner, minimizing disruption.

But one wonders whether all these concrete structures, which are taking over our last remaining green areas, will have the same effect ten or twenty years down the line.

The government had said that, while it has already started working on plans for a mass transport system, such plans will only be implemented after all road widening projects are completed.

We believe that this strategy is short-sighted, and that a mass transport system should at least be implemented in tandem with the road infrastructure projects, if not before.

Despite all the talk of switching over to greener methods and of addressing the traffic issue and reducing the number of vehicles on the road, not a lot is being done about this. On the contrary, all efforts are being made to keep feeding an increasingly hungry monster – one that could one day swallow the entire country.  

Another issue that has probably not been taken into consideration is that all these huge construction trucks, which travel non-stop, loaded to the brim, between construction sites and quarries, are likely causing significant damage to recently constructed roads, which only leads into a vicious cycle of constant road repairs and upgrades.

If we want this country to remain attractive to tourists while at the same time remain an investment hub for local and foreign businesses alike, the only option is to immediately invest in a mass transport system and introduce measures that truly discourage the use of the private car.

We cannot admit that this is the way forward only when it’s too late, when our last remaining fields have disappeared and the country is completely choked by concrete and tarmac.