Mġarr road accident is lethal warning for cyclists

A crash on the Mġarr bypass that left one car sandwiched beneath the other has prompted cyclists to reiterate their calls for segregated cycling lanes, noting that a cyclist would have been crushed to death in the incident. 

Thankfully, nobody was hurt in the collision, a police spokesperson said. 

The Mġarr bypass was rebuilt earlier this year at considerable expense and significant delay, with authorities incorporating a narrow strip of a bicycle lane along one side of the road.

Times of Malta reported earlier this month how the cycling lane is effectively useless as it is too narrow for a bicycle to pass through at certain points. 

Cycling advocacy group Rota had noted at the time that anything short of segregated cycling lanes would prove to be detrimental to both car and bicycle users. 

Infrastructure Malta said plans to have segregated cycling lanes on the road were abandoned because they would have required the take-up of arable land. 

Calls for segregated cycling lanes on key roads against picked up steam on Saturday, as images of two cars smashed into the slither of a cycling lane were shared across Facebook feeds. 

“Share the road.. share the death. The infrastructure...