THE NEW decoration of the Nicosia motorway roundabout might be original but it is dangerous for drivers, a leading architect has warned.
Architect Georgios Phedonos has lashed out against the roundabout, which has recently been decorated with jagged lumps of mountain granite.
“The landscaper might have thought the design was original but did he think about safety? And there is also the question of keeping the roundabout clean,” said Phedonas.
He said roundabouts were supposed to have a ‘soft’ centre, made of earth and grass with bushes in the centre so that if a driver does drive onto the island, they will be stopped by the bushes, and will most likely only be injured, not killed.
“But what happens if a driver crashes into the Nicosia roundabout? The rocks will increase the likeliness that they will be killed, especially for those driving motorcycles,” he said.
Phedonos described the rocks as “dragon’s teeth” because they were jagged and sharp.
He said the landscaper had claimed in his defence that a border of four metres had been left around the roundabout for safety reasons, claiming that if you were thrown four metres you would most likely be killed, no matter what the island had in the centre.
“Another question is how they expect to keep the roundabout clean. Rubbish and dust will be blown on to the rocks and weeds will grow between the rocks. I suggested that they get goats to graze on the roundabout,” said Phedonos.
He predicted that the rocks would be removed when authorities realised the danger to drivers.
Communication and Works Minister Averoff Neophytou, who has spearheaded the projects to decorate roundabouts, was unavailable for comment as he is currently in Chicago, USA.
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