An appraisal on the increase of cycling infrastructure in Malta and its influence on the promotion of cycling

Abstract

With an annual increase in population, Malta’s transport demand has reached astronomical levels. Possessing a modal share of over 80%, personal vehicles have become the dominant form of transportation. To address the issue of capacity in our road network, the government announced substantial investments in 2018 to upgrade several links and nodes. The vast majority of road upgrades completed so far have thus prioritised this increased number of motor vehicles. Yet, certain projects also included the incorporation of alternative modes of active mobility through cycling infrastructure. Even with the adoption of several new road-widening projects, the issues of congestion have still persisted. This has raised questions about whether recently completed road projects have only contributed towards a vicious cycle of induced demand. Despite the ongoing issues of congestion and the provision of new cycling infrastructure, the general public has still refrained from resorting to such alternative modes of transport. Understanding the reasons why the incorporation of new cycle routes has not instigated a modal shift is the underlying aim of this dissertation. The appraisal of three specific recently constructed cycle routes provides further insight and helps build upon readily available literature related to transport in Malta. The analysis of existing strategic plans (including maps) is accompanied by surveys and interviews with members involved in the cycling community. These research methods help attain a greater understanding of the barriers affecting the promotion of cycling in Malta. The results confirm that the construction of new cycling infrastructure provided only a marginal contribution to the promotion of cycling as a mode of transport, even amongst already established cyclists. Multiple barriers as to why this is the case are also discovered. The correlation of all the acquired data highlights the fact that shortcomings still exist within these routes. Most of them have resulted in issues of connectivity. Hence their design and execution have been highly questioned by the cycling community. The interviews also show that the government’s recent proposal of new active mobility routes holds a lot more promise. This is due to certain shortcomings that are now being addressed, such as the lack of public consultation with end users. Yet, the results show that a pertinent issue remains both for existing as well as future cycling routes. This is the lack of legally binding standards for cycling infrastructure. The publication of standards is the key to safeguarding the quality of cycling infrastructure on our islands. While other measures related to disincentivising car use will also be required, ensuring that Malta’s cycling infrastructure is up to standard is the first step to properly instigate a modal shift in the transport sector.