Plan To Slow Malta’s Streets Delayed But Still In The Works, With Żejtun, Swieqi And Safi First In Line
A plan to prioritise pedestrians over cars in Malta’s streets may have been pushed back but it’s still in the pipeline, with Żejtun, Swieqi and Safi set to be the first three localities.
The ‘Slow Streets’ initiative was launched by the Local Councils Association (LCA) in June 2020, inspired by the traffic-free streets Malta experienced during the first COVID-19 quasi-lockdown.
It proposes closing off streets permanently and temporarily, creating new ‘play streets’ where children can play and residents, re-routing traffic to main roads, and creating more pedestrian crossings.
43 local councils signed up and detailed studies were carried out by architectural firm studjurban and urban designer Tom Van Malderen in collaboration with Transport Malta and the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure.
Local Councils Association president Mario Fava (right) showing a Slow Street document to then Transport Minister Ian Borg
In July 2021, LCA president Mario Fava told Lovin Malta that Żejtun will be the pilot project of the Slow Street project and that its implementation should start in “a matter of weeks”.
While this hasn’t yet materialised, Fava said the LCA has requested funds for its implementation and hopes there will be a line item in this regard in the upcoming Budget.
“We are regularly discussing the plans with the authorities,” he said, confirming that Żejtun is still first in line, along with Swieqi and Safi.
Studjurban founder Antoine Zammit described the Slow Streets Project as an “exercise in compromise”.
Plans for a street in Mosta as part of the Slow Streets project
“It showed us that notwithstanding the heavy traffic, residents and pedestrians can still be given priority to be able to experience open spaces in their neighbourhoods better, and in a safer way,” he said.
“In fact, the interventions we proposed individually to the 43 localities are classified on four levels namely signage and branding, re-routing of traffic flows, reconfiguration of street traffic and tactical urbanism – which means that localities may decide to alter existing situations with our proposed interventions only on specific days or during specific times, and then go back to the current state.”
Cover photo: Before and after – plans for a street in Attard as part of the ‘Slow Streets’ project
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