By Annette Chrysostomou and Liam Carter
Pedestrians mostly blame inconsiderate and bad drivers when cars fail to stop for them at pedestrian crossings, but all too often faded road markings may well be equally to blame.
Nicosia old town seems to be particularly at fault.
“On our first day here, we couldn’t actually figure out where the zebra crossings actually stood. We only noticed the faded pedestrian crossings the moment we saw other people crossing,” said Mike, 32, a British tourist visiting Nicosia.
Maya, a 29-year-old local shopkeeper, who happens to have a zebra crossing right in front of her shop in the old town, lamented the fact that she regularly observes pedestrians nearly getting run over by cars.
“I see it every day. First and foremost, not all of the drivers are keen to stop at a possible pedestrian crossing. But some of the pedestrian crossings are in a terrible condition. You can’t even see the paint,” she said.
Two other visitors, Simon and Anne, expressed their concerns from a driver’s point of view.
“The zebra crossings leading to the city seemed all right to be fair, but for instance, inside the city, we didn’t even notice the crossing; it was only when a bunch of people crossed,” Anne said.
“The faded paint on the crossings is not only a hazard for pedestrians but it’s also problematic for people who might be new to town and are not accustomed to the regular points of crossings,” added Simon.
Pedestrian crossings at the top of Ledra street and in Philokyprou street, for example, are in a particularly sorry state.
“We paint them whenever necessary,” a public works’ department official told the Sunday Mail.
He said the department has technicians who go around and evaluate when maintenance is necessary. Head of the department Socrates Savvides stressed they would look at any problems that are reported.
“Keep in mind that we are not in charge of all roads, but only of the main roads,” he cautioned. “The others are being maintained by municipalities and communities.”
A Nicosia municipality official who preferred to remain anonymous said: “we have a dedicated annual programme that restores the paint of pedestrian crossings, amongst other things.”
Asked if he thinks the bad condition of some of the pedestrian crossings poses a risk to locals and foreign tourists alike, he remarked that “everyone should be aware of the specific points dedicated to pedestrian crossings.”
However, he conceded the fact “that more enforcement is needed in the streets of Nicosia”.
Head of the Nicosia traffic department Harris Evripidou commented his department regularly points out issues of unrecognisable pedestrian crossings to the relevant authorities and “more often than not they are rectified”.
A 47-year-old foreign woman was in the intensive care unit with injuries to her leg, arm and pelvis in July after a 74-year-old man driving along Protaras Avenue towards Paralimni failed to stop at a pedestrian crossing. The woman was crossing it at the time and was struck by the car.
Last year, three members of one family were hit by a car as they used a pedestrian crossing near the Paphos Mall.
They were hit when a man failed to stop at the crossing on Apostolou Pavlou Avenue.
