I went to the public meeting in Savannah on 9 Feb. about the East-West Arterial extension, and the environmental impact assessment was very well presented and explained. We were told that questions could only deal with the EIA.
My question was: As this is a massive project looking to the next 30/40 years, will the EIA also be considering future ways of moving people other than cars? The answer I got from the National Roads Authority was there will be provision for electric bikes and scooters and maybe a bus lane, so I think the answer was ‘no’. That is a pity.
Bigger, faster roads into a city just means more congestion at bottlenecks getting into the city. (And the NRA did say that an overpass at Grand Harbour is not being considered.)
There are many mass transit systems to take people in and out of the city which offer an alternative to cars which would be faster, cheaper, more energy efficient and less damaging to the local environment. Surely these alternatives should be considered when we are evaluating the environmental impact of a six-lane highway.
Graham Morse
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