THE LONG-AWAITED Solomou Square bus terminal was finally delivered and officially inaugurated yesterday by Mayor Eleni Mavrou and Communications Minister Efthymios Flourentzos.
“Today is a special moment for our city and for urban public transport,” said Mavrou, adding that the completion of the project was the answer to the city’s contemporary needs.
The €4.8 million bus terminal is now fully functional and open to cars, buses and pedestrians alike.
Work began in September 2010. It was originally meant to be completed last month.
Solomou Square “as we know it today is not even comparable to the one we knew a year ago”, said Flourentzos. He said it was no longer “a mess of buses, cars and pedestrians” all in one place.
The new and improved sleek bus terminal now offers better accessibility to people who are disabled, women with children, and the elderly, as well as the safe and easy movement through the area for cars, buses and pedestrians.
Mavrou also said it promoted a much better image of public transport, which would make it more appealing to the public. In general Cypriots do not use public transport.
The completion of the terminal also sees the return of the Dionysios Solomos bust that was taken away for repairs.
“What we see now is a revamped square with a clear separation between buses and cars, with wide pavements for pedestrians as well as pedestrian crossings,” said Flourentzos, describing it as a “nice, comfortable and functional environment.”
Flourentzos also applauded Mavrou for being the “driving force behind the project” but he also applauded everyone’s efforts in upgrading the quality of life of the city.
Bus users were pleased but still thought there could be improvements.
“It’s much better than the old one but sometimes the buses are still late,” said Sumith Predep who uses the bus every day.
“It makes sense now and it’s so easy to navigate the lanes and the surroundings,” said Sofie Nicolaou, who added that she even felt safer as a pedestrian than she had done in the past.
The road to improvement however was not a smooth one, with the municipality facing resistance and delays due to an unlicensed kiosk owner Vasilis Piripitsis, who opened a kiosk in the centre of the square 23 years ago. Piripitsis was evicted in September after a cabinet approved eviction notice, a whole year after construction had begun.
According to Flourentzos there is more work in the pipeline for all the major cities under the Integrated Mobility Plan, such as the construction of bus lanes on major avenues and a feasibility study for trams.
The project was funded by the EU Regional Development Fund, the state budget and Nicosia Municipality.
