Minister firm over road changes

By Andria Kades

INTERIOR Minister Socrates Hasikos said on Wendnesday the redevelopment of Tseri Avenue in Nicosia would go ahead despite opposition, the Cyprus News Agency reported.

Residents in the area have been protesting that, although in need of a facelift, the changes proposed by the government would negatively affect businesses in Tseri.

The final plan includes three traffic lanes, pavements two to three metres wide, 20 pedestrian crossings, seven light controlled junctions, two speed bumps, two roundabouts, up to 240 parking spots and assistance for people with disabilities.

The Tseri Avenue initiative committee, comprised of residents and shop owners of the area, had argued the regulations were outdated and they did not ensure low speed limits and security and businesses would lose potential customers.

One of their demands was to have roadside parking in front of their shops as opposed to a set parking place stressing that roads needed an urgent facelift as they flooded every time it rained and there was inadequate street lighting and pavements.

“We don’t say no to the modifications, they can build more pavements, fix the drainage systems, but it is a shame to destroy the businesses by putting up a traffic island,” member of the initiative committee Despoina Petrou said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.