Watch: Architect Explains How Pedestrianisation Of Maltese Town Squares Can Work In Practice
Architect Antoine Zammit, whose firm is behind several plans to pedestrianise Maltese town squares, has not given up hope that such projects can work in practice but believes they must be implemented hand in hand with transport solutions.
Speaking to Lovin Malta, Zammit said town squares were historically designed as social and commerce spaces but have, over time, been “relegated” into thoroughfares for vehicular traffic.
As part of the Slow Streets initiative, Zammit’s firm Studjurban designed plans for 43 localities across Malta and Gozo that would see town centres partially or wholly pedestrianised at certain times of the week, with traffic diverted to peripheral areas.
Although the government launched the plans with much gusto during the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago, implementation has proven to be slow and funding hard to come by. Mosta’s new local council even partially reversed the pedestrianisation of the town square.
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Zammit, who is currently spearheading a partial pedestrianisation of Birgu’s town square, believes such projects can work so long but not in isolation.
“You cant simply pedestrianise a space and not do anything else, and expect things to just fall into place, especially if the reliance on vehicles grows and we don’t have viable alternatives to consider,” he said.
He said public transport should still be allowed to pass through pedestrianised town squares, and that pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to access these centres should be improved. He also proposed parking hubs on the outskirts of towns, along with shuttle services to the centre, to make it easier for people to access the newly pedestrianised town centres.
Zammit noted that previous pedestrianisation projects, such as Valletta’s Republic Street and Sliema’s Bisazza Street, had also faced considerable opposition, including by the business community. However, he said businesses came to accept the concept over time when they realised that pedestrianisation increased footfall in the area.
However, he urged people not to fall into a sense of reluctant complacency that the current state of play can never change.
“I don’t tend to agree with the criticism that things will never change because we have this mentality and culture,” he said.
“It’s an easy way out of saying these projects will fail so we might as well stick with the status quo.”
Cover photo: Left: Architect Antoine Zammit, Right: Studjurban’s plan for the pedestrianisation of Birgu’s town square
Should more Maltese town squares be pedestrianised?
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