Cypriots have more cars than anyone in Europe
EXPERTS yesterday called for an urgent transport plan for a unified Cyprus, as spiralling car ownership threatens to choke the island.
By the end of this year, there will be more than one card for every man woman and child on the Greek Cypriot side.
And if there is a Cyprus solution, it won’t be long before Turkish Cypriots catch up, further contributing to the problem, Greek Traffic Engineer Dr Spyros Vougias warned yesterday.
Vougias was addressing a conference titled ‘Integrating Transport in a Reunified Cyprus’, which was organised by the Reconstruction and Resettlement Council.
“At the moment, the north of Cyprus is not following the same rapid development,” Vougias said. “In reunification, it will catch up and there will be an increase in car ownership, so there needs to be preparation and policies so that people can adjust quickly.”
Vougias said that in 2007 there were 688,532 cars registered on the Greek Cypriot side, compared to 649,574 in 2006. “This is a huge increase, 33.1 per cent or 48,387 new cars,” he said, adding that by comparison Greece has 10 million people and five million cars.
“By the end of 2008, there will be 750,000 cars registered in Cyprus,” Vougias said. This is more than one car for every man woman and child.
“The situation with cars in Cyprus means you have more than any other European country. There is more than one vehicle for every person,” Vougias said. “Car ownership is not a sin, but using them when it’s not necessary is.”
He said it would be absolutely necessary in a reunited Cyprus to look into a tram system for Nicosia and a light-rail system for the whole of the island.
“In a reunified Cyprus, trains must play a part. There can’t be just one type of transport,” Vougias said.
He also said walking and cycling were not adequately encouraged in Cyprus and there needed to be re-education in that area. Bus services were insufficient and inadequate, he said. Authorities must also begin to use ‘smart’ alternatives to reduce traffic coming into city centres.
“It has been proved that where there is urban charging, as much as 30 per cent of traffic is discouraged from entering city centres,” he said. This could be done via smart cards, which would not involve any police presence and would be cost effective.
Vougias said that although Cyprus was not a basic polluter in global terms, Greeks and Cypriots actually inhale more pollutants than other Europeans.
“Cypriots and Greeks are unfortunately first when it comes to the inhalation of particulate matter, which sits in the lungs and creates a lot of health problems,” he said.
“We have to completely rethink urban mobility,” he added, suggesting that reunification of the island offered a good chance to create this new culture.
But civil engineer Anna Caramondani said there was a lack of planning at national level and a lack of co-ordination, and an absence of vision for a reunified Cyprus.
“Land use and transportation planning are carried out by different parties who don’t talk to each other,” she said. “Planners on both sides turned their backs to the dividing line and didn’t even see it as a border but as a barrier. This was a great mistake, although understandable due to the tragic events.”
She said it was imperative “and even late” to start planning how the country could be reunified spatially.
Mehmet Kunt, a Turkish civil and transport engineer, told similar stories from the north.
He spoke of aged buses, unreliable timetables, limited routes and bus stops and each town having its own system.
“We need to make a decision on what we want to do,” he said.
“We need to have a transportation authority to oversee management of the system for the whole island. Not all solutions require huge amounts of money. A combined effort now will stop duplication and will save money.”
Alecos Michaelides, the Director of the Public Works Department, also addressed the conference giving an outline on the technicalities.
He said there would need to be 29 “arteries and secondary roads” to reunify the two sides smoothly.
The 29 connection points include Pyrgos, Kalo Chorio, Zodia, Dherynia, Mammari and Denia, Polemidhia, Athienou, Lymbia, Troulli and Pyla. “These links are what will bring about the reunification of the transport network,” said Michaelides.
There would also be a ring road around the capital, which is already underway, Michaelides said.
The 32-kilometre four-lane ring road would start in the east of Nicosia at Yeri, linking Dhali, Tseri and Lakatamia, where it would go underground for 2.5 kilometres and diversify into three different openings, one of which would link it both to the Nicosia-Troodos motorway and the Nicosia-Limassol highway.
Michaelides said Cyprus has currently has 8,000 kilometres of roads, including 2,500 kilometres of highway.
“The road to economic development goes through a good communications network,” he said. “And a good road network will be the backbone of reunification.”
