Notwithstanding the heavy investment in road infrastructure, the traffic congestion problem is much worse than it ever was. Government unfortunately addressed the effects, stubbornly ignoring the causes. The result is here for all to see: traffic is the number one problem. It will get much worse before it can get any better.

One of the "experts" commissioned to assess the Central Link project had even dared predict that as a result of the road infrastructure investment we would gain quality time which was then being lost in traffic. Needless to say, his predictions did not materialise: time lost in traffic has increased substantially.

The Transport Masterplan commissioned by this government had indicated the nature of the problem that we face: car dependency. We need to inverse our priorities: people should be prioritised over cars. That is the objective which must be realised if traffic congestion is to be addressed: unfortunately, it is continuously ignored.

The courageous step of introducing free public transport had an insignificant impact on the traffic generated. Even the extension of the free school transport service to Church and private schools had no impact on traffic congestion on school days.

Next to nothing is being done to address car dependency. Worse, the further development of the road infrastructure is encouraging more cars on the road, further entrenching car dependency. In addition, land use planning, instead of protecting our localities in order to ensure that they can adequately be of service to local communities, has permitted developments which have led to the closure of a significant number of local commercial outlets and to the inevitable long-term urban decay.

In these columns, over the past weeks and months I have discussed some policies which are contributing to the traffic problem. One of them is that permitting the mushrooming of supermarkets which, in addition to generating considerable traffic has contributed to the gradual closure of the retail outlets in our localities and the resultant decay of our urban areas. This is an issue which land use planning could have tackled but unfortunately, instead, was abdicated to market forces. As we know, the market only appreciates cost in terms of euro. Inevitably, whenever left to its own devices, the market ignores social and environmental costs.

There was a possible solution to all this which could help retail outlets group together within a cooperative framework through which they can potentially be assisted to compete with supermarkets. In addition to providing service in our localities, such an initiative would substantially reduce the need for customers to travel by car. It would also halt and possibly reverse urban decay in our localities. However, it may be too late for this now.

The 15-minute city initiative born in Paris easily comes to mind in such circumstances. The brainchild of Carlos Moreno, an architect advising the Paris Mayor, the 15-minute city seeks to provide our basic needs not more than 15 minutes away from our home. It is definitely both SME-friendly and people friendly as it encourages our localities to provide service and be self-sufficient. As a result, this strengthens the social fabric of our localities, which is slowly disintegrating. This is emphasised in Green over Greed: A Green Vision 2050, a green alternative to Vision 2050

All this points to one basic and undeniable fact: the exponential increase of our traffic problem is in part a failure of our land use planning which has continuous failed to promote the integral development which we so urgently require.

Instead of promoting an autocratic land use planning policy, government should promote policies which seek to rehabilitate our urban areas and encourage their transformation into vibrant communities, reversing the urban decay prevalent in the past years. This can be done through the consideration of small and medium sized commercial outlets in our localities as an essential element of the social infrastructure of our urban and rural communities. Over the years this has been under attack as a result of the subservience of the planning system to the speculative brigade.

We need a transport policy which makes sense. One which serves the human person not the car. It has to be a policy which reverses the car-centric stance which dominates our corridors of power.

The current Transport Masterplan in its diagnosis had this to say: "............ it can be seen from experience that the approach to transport planning and policy in Malta has generally been more short-term (4-5 years) in nature. The lack of importance given to long-term planning means that a long-term integrated plan based on solid analysis with clear objectives and targets is lacking. This has resulted in the lack of strategic direction and the inherent inability to address difficult issues such as private vehicle restraint. There is a strong reluctance for Maltese society to change but this is in contrast with the need for communal actions to address the traffic problems existing now and in the future. This results in the Maltese traveller expecting that everyone else will change their travel habits so that they can continue to drive their car."

When we decide to address the issue of private vehicle restraint, we can possibly start the difficult path of solving the traffic problem.