GSD Slams Government’s “Mismanagement” Of Traffic And Transport
The GSD has said that the Government is “failing abysmally” in its “haphazard and inconsistent” approach to traffic and transport and the Minister for Transport is presiding over the “most significant mismanagement of traffic and transport in living memory.”
A statement continued: “The Government have been entirely disingenuous in pursuing road closures without proper planning, revenue raising parking charges, the creation of further fee-paying blue zones and the proposal of road tax (quickly changed to a pollution tax) under the banner of "Green Gibraltar". This is all happening without the slightest consideration for the public at large or the reality of how we as people move about our city.
“These major changes many of which are being carried out with hardly any planning or public notice are understandably causing a significant public backlash. These just seem to be arrogantly rammed through without the disclosure to the community of a cohesive traffic strategy which is both environmentally sustainable, effective and consistent. These measures should be revoked and a properly planned strategy presented for public consultation.”
Shadow Minister for Transport Elliott Phillips said:
"There is nothing green about the Government's policy on road closures and any attempt to sugar coat this is tantamount to insulting the intelligence of the people of Gibraltar. Gibraltar has over 40,000 registered vehicles, an ageing and ill-equipped road infrastructure, thousands of cars flowing through our bottlenecked frontier and a serious lack of real cycling lanes and safe alternatives whilst parking bays continue to be occupied by commercial interests. The public transport system needs enhancement if it is to be an alternative to car use for some people. To demonstrate the sheer hypocrisy of raising the green banner Europort Avenue closure has seen large trucks spewing fumes into the air whilst construction is be completed and our green areas continue to be watered by bowsers which run on diesel! In addition and although the Government claims it wishes to reduce the use of cars it continues to be widely encouraging the population to purchase new vehicles under its 0% import duty incentive. On Line Wall Road, traffic is simply being redirected to Queensway with the emergency re-opening of Line Wall Road over two days resulting from an accident on Waterport Road being testament to how little planning has gone into this.
“A Government truly committed to a Greener Gibraltar would plan better and tell the people that achieving the aim of green Gibraltar will take time and will require significant investment in infrastructure, better alternatives to driving particularly for the elderly, those with disabilities and low income families and over time encourage a change in the collective chip. These need to be in place first. Otherwise all that is happening is roads are being closed and fees hiked up with no alternatives and bad planning."
