The organisations note that this is not the first accident, which highlights the insufficiency of this freshly introduced “cycle lane”, and their open letter follows over two years of public outcry by the cycling community on the dangerous state of the cycling infrastructure on this road.

Now, a cyclist has had to suffer the incompetence of the authorities work.

The organisations are now demanding that political responsibility is shouldered and reiterate that the road is redone in conformity with best practices to keep all road users safe.

“Mġarr Road features what is possibly the least usable cycle lane on the island, so narrow that it forces cyclists to rejoin speeding car traffic at several points,” the NGOs wrote.

“It is a shame that this “cycle lane” on Triq Sir Temi Żammit has been retained despite the outcry, and that not a word has been uttered by the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects on the situation in the three days since this latest accident.”

Fundamentally, road design should seek to ensure safety for all users and tackle entrenched car dependency. Increasing penalties alone will not prevent fatal accidents if our road infrastructure continues to encourage speeding cars at the cost of all other means of transport.

The organisations are therefore demanding that works to redesign the Triq Sir Temi Żammit are started immediately, in accordance with international cycling infrastructure standards, such as the proposed plan by Rota, to prevent further avoidable accidents on this road.

Do you think that cycling has become a dangerous endeavour in Malta?