A lot of the new ideas for improving traffic congestion in Malta are impressive yet expensive and could take years if not decades to implement. Why not start by improving on the resources that we already have in place. Raising the existing bicycle lanes to the height of the sidewalk is one way to prevent cars from swerving in and out of the lanes. Another option would be to cut off the bicycle lane from the main road by means of a small yet effective divider of sorts.
As a driver I am terrified I might hit a cyclist as most roads are narrow with parked cars either side. Most pavements can permit an area for cycles but they as well as walkers have to be educated in the matter .
Caution as the risk increases when cyclists re-enter the carriageway.
However we need to be careful. This needs to cater for both 18-25KPH slow commuters and 25-32KPH fast commuters. Pavement stretches should be short and as a last resort. Segregated cycle lanes reduce cycling fatalities by 96%. But require the removal of parking lanes. One option that may work well that I have heard of is to make roads one way with bidirectional cycle lanes. This retains parking capacity.
This content is created by the open source Your Priorities citizen engagement platform designed by the non profit Citizens Foundation