Our View: Public should not be consulted about plans to ease Limassol traffic congestion

Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades was in Limassol on Monday for a brainstorming session aimed at coming up with ideas for dealing with steadily worsening traffic congestion in the city. The idea was to receive feedback from municipalities in the area over which planned projects for easing traffic congestion would be given priority.

The aim of the meeting, according to Vafeades, was “to achieve coordination, in terms of which projects should be implemented first as well as to discuss financing and coordinating the subsequent implementation so we can make sure the projects are finished on time.” He has asked the municipalities to hand him a list of projects in order of priority in two weeks.

Trying to get the municipalities on board is a good idea but not necessarily the right one. What level of expertise, on city road construction and traffic flow, exists in municipalities? If there was any, the situation on Limassol’s roads would not have been so chaotic. There is also the political considerations for mayors and municipal councils, which are inclined to withdraw their backing for projects when there is a reaction or protests by the people affected.

The case of Limassol’s Nikos and Despina Pattichi Avenue perfectly illustrates how things work when it comes to city roads. Plans to build bus lanes on either side of the avenue, as part of the sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) were vetoed by Limassol municipality because they would have exacerbated rather than eased traffic congestion. Another reason for scrapping the plans was that the owners of shops on the road had raised hell, even opposing the building of traffic islands in the middle of the road as it would make it difficult for customers to park outside a shop.

The same thing happened on the outskirts of Nicosia, the Anastasiades government giving up plans to turn Tseri avenue into a four-lane road because shopkeepers staged strong protests against the plan. Of course, drivers would have been better off with four lanes on a road many use to enter the capital and on which the traffic is increasing every year, but the government gave in to the shopkeepers who should not even have had a say in the matter.

Public opposition has always been an obstacle for any government trying to ease traffic congestion and improve urban mobility as politicians are inclined to back down at the first sign of opposition. “In a city where every year some 10,000 cars get registered, the road network needs constant upgrading,” said Vafeades. The problem is that by the time the road network would be upgraded – to the extent allowed by interested parties – there could be another 50,000 new cars on Limassol’s roads and the upgrade would be inadequate.

Piecemeal upgrades, after public consultations, will never ease traffic congestion. There must be comprehensive medium- and long-term plans for each city formulated by experts and having an implementation strategy. Anything less, would not ease traffic congestion now or in the near future. 

المصدر: Cyprus Mail