AYIOU ANTONIOU Street in Paphos, known as Bar Street, is to be given a new lease of life following a series of complaints by visitors and establishment owners over what a dump the area had turned into in recent years.
The bar and club owners, pushed to the limit, decided to take matters into their own hands.
Costas Arsinas, the President of the Bar and club owners of the street said the business along the street had “had enough of empty promises and a lack of action.”
Complaints about the street vary from comments on its deteriorated state, to a rise in crime and the general poor cleanliness of the whole area.
The once-buzzing Paphos street suffered a problematic summer season and Arsinas and the committee decided it was imperative to get the backing of local authorities now, in an attempt to turn the situation around.
The president of the bars and clubs of Ayiou Antoniou Street is also the owner of the Robin Hood pub, which has been operational for the last 14 years. He believes that constant negative publicity has had a severely adverse effect on his business.
The committee representing the businesses of the street met with Paphos Mayor Savvas Vergas, representatives of the police, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, the District Officer and the tourism department of the Chamber of Commerce.
Arsinas said that the committees’ ideas were put forward and discussed. It was then decided that the Mayor would represent the Town Hall and try to co-ordinate the clean-up effort.
“Everyone listened to our ideas on how to clean up the area and make it better. We want to create a more modern and safe environment and to encourage the families back to the street,” said Arsinas.
He said all of the authorities would meet again in a month’s time to see what progress had been made. Immediate action would include security, presentation and cleanliness, and the connection of the pedestrian walkway from the seafront to Ayiou Antoniou Street.
In addition, CCTV cameras installed along the street will help to prevent incidents before they happen, according to Arsinas.
“The Mayor agrees with us that we need to start co-ordinating an effort to help the situation and he thinks these moves are positive and good for the area,” said Arsinas.
“We need help from everyone to try and make this work and we want families to be able to visit the street and have a good time in safe, clean surroundings.”
