Road access to Smart City to be determined in Traffic Impact Assessment

Smart City has been told to assess the impact on traffic of various changes being contemplated to the area’s masterplan and propose solutions.

The obligation is found in the terms of reference for a Traffic Impact Assessment issued by the Planning Authority.

The study is likely to determine whether the Smart City development, which is set to accommodate the American University of Malta’s campus and other residential institutions, will require a new access road.

According to the terms of reference, the study must include any suggested changes to the infrastructure required to mitigate the traffic impact of the project. It must also include the possible redesign of key links and junctions.

The TIA should also include proposals to reduce traffic through a Green  Transport Plan with measures to reduce single occupancy car trips and  recommendations for cycling, pedestrian and sea-based routes.

The TIA will also include an estimation of future trip generation and capacity assessments of the key links and junctions.

The new Smart City masterplan allocates plots previously earmarked for information and communication technology (ICT) offices to other purposes like development related to education and residential institutions.

According to a spokesperson for the company the changes reflect “local and global market considerations”, replacing the emphasis on the delivery of office space that was central to the 2008 masterplan with an increased focus “on education and training facilities”.

The agreement with Smart City on the relocation of the American University of Malta campus from Zonqor, includes an obligation on government to construct a new connection road linking Bieb is-Sultan in Zabbar, to the Cappuchin’s convent in Kalkara.

A 643m dual carriageway linking the two landmarks was already proposed in 2007. But as proposed, the road would have resulted in the loss of 14,500sq.m of agricultural land in the scenic Tal-Fata area in Zabbar.

Last year a spokesperson for Economy Minister Silvio Schembri told MaltaToday that an existing dirt road is now being considered for the road link. “Government is exploring a different route from that proposed in the 2007 application, utilizing an existing dirt road instead of passing the road right through agricultural land at tal-Fata as originally proposed in 2007,” a spokesperson had confirmed.