Decision to allow partial reopening still not implemented

Businesses and shopkeepers are again calling for Makarios avenue in Nicosia to be reopened to traffic, with a joint platform claiming on Wednesday that two out of every three shops along the street remain empty.

The joint platform for ‘the revitalisation of the urban commercial core’ said the avenue had become a “dead zone” since restrictions on private traffic were introduced, and called for two-way traffic on its southern side.

Nicosia mayor Charalambos Prountzos remarked that the issue was not new and that the municipality was working to implement a municipal council decision to amend traffic regulations while avoiding any risk that European funding could have to be repaid.

Prountzos said the traffic regulations were decided by the previous municipal council as part of the redevelopment and under the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan.

He said he had submitted a proposal to amend the regulations after taking office, but it was amended by a majority of the municipal council.

“There is a decision by the city council, which we are trying to implement without the risk of the taxpayer having to pay back the funding provided for the project, and that is where we are now,” he said.

The mayor said discussions with the platform were continuing on the historic centre and traffic regulations.

“With the platform, we are discussing several issues related to the redevelopment of the historic centre and the traffic regulations of Makarios, so the opinions are respected,” he said.

He said the municipality was working to prevent taxpayers having to repay European Union funding.

The platform said a decision by the municipal council in May last year to partially reopen the avenue to cars had still not been implemented, describing the delay as the result of “bureaucracy and obsessions”.

It said the closure of Makarios Avenue and Leventis Street had separated the city centre from the historic commercial area within the walls of Nicosia.

“The new and historic centres of Nicosia must function as an organically unified centre,” the platform said, arguing that arrangements were restricting access to businesses.

The dispute dates back to the €20 million-plus redevelopment of Makarios Avenue, which received European funding under a sustainable urban mobility programme.

The project was intended to restrict private traffic and encourage public transport and cycling.

The municipal council nevertheless voted last year to allow private vehicles to use the avenue on weekdays between 7am and 9pm. Outside those hours, access would remain restricted to buses, taxis, residents and employees.

The proposed arrangement covers the section between Lycavitos police station and Solomou square, approval from the police chief before it can take effect.

The platform also criticised delays to mobility plans and the lack of measures for commercial traffic, arguing deliveries generate significant vehicle movements.