The effects of transport in St. Venera : a case study

Abstract

Traffic in Malta has already started showing signs of saturation. Two hundred and fifty thousand cars over a small area causes problems such as degradation of environmental quality, loss of time and parking problems. Lack of basic information has led to mismanagement of the limited physical resources of the island. This approach has been followed by transport managers in the last years. St. Venera has a geographically strategic position since it links three of Malta's main towns - Hamrun, B'Kara and Qormi. This position gave importance to connecting roads such as Psaila Street and High Road. In this case, building which was used for purely residential purposes is now being used for commercial purposes. This transition in land use can be beneficiary to the development of the area, but it can also cause stress on the remaining residential parts, if no provisions accommodate the negative effects of commercial development. The use of a social survey will analyse the problems caused by traffic and evaluate alternatives. The identification of the urban transport problems will form the basis for the formulation of strategies that can minimise the negative impacts.