School generated transport needs and impact on traffic flow in Iklin

Abstract

Traffic congestion has become a daily reality in urban cities around the world not least in Malta. The Maltese Islands has the highest 1325persons/square kilometer population density in Europe (NSO- Census 2011, 2014) and although very small in size, has one of the highest level of motorization 763/1000 (NSO, 2014) in the world. Schools and related transport requirements are one of the factors that contribute to congestion especially in the early hours of the day, where students and staff commute to schools in a short time window. The added transport requirements in a short time window tests the road infrastructure and results in several motorists seeking alternate ways to arrive to their destination. This long essay explores the rise in need for transport demands due to education travel. Literature presents reasons for parent’s choice to transport their children to school using their own private car and the barriers there may be to shift modal choice of transport to more environmentally and healthy choice. Traffic data was gathered to quantify the effect this modal choice is causing on road capacity, and the spill-over effect of increased traffic in residential roads. It is common occurrence that usually quiet residential roads are turned into long queues of cars trying to escape the congestion on main arterial roads. This phenomenon is usually observed in the morning rush hour between 07:00 and 08:30 and in the evening between 17:00 and 19:30. An educational facility nearest to the point where traffic data was captured was analysed in terms of transport. Finally the information gathered was the basis for further recommendations in terms of policy, practical measures and suggestions to improve accessibility to the school by alternate ways to the private car. The study ultimately proves that there is an increase in vehicle movement on school days in arterial and residential road, even on roads which are not adjacent to schools.