A fatal accident that was waiting to happen

Sir,

The carnage on Cyprus’ roads continues unabated with the latest fatality on an infamous and notorious road at Tala, Paphos District. The media carried full reports of this horrific accident, in which an English lady, on the pavement, was killed instantly in front of her husband, by a car driver who lost control coming down Stephanie Avenue.

This highly dangerous road, which is wide, straight and very steep, has for years been the site of numerous serious incidents, all associated with excessive speed.

Since 1996, the Stephanie Village Residents’ Association has repeatedly approached the district office, the police, the public works department, visiting politicians at public meetings, the EU Representative, and the Tala Community Board, with the purpose of seeking better signage and traffic calming measures – of which there is plenty of reasonably inexpensive choice. But all our pleas have been ignored. Responsibility for doing something effective is always passed to a “higher authority”.

Now our worst fears have been confirmed with a life lost – which was frankly predictable – and since this avenue is to become even busier, with plans for it to be extended as a key arterial road to the coast through Kissonerga, when will our community be recognised and sensibly served so that no more lives are lost?

Local residents should ensure they are registered to vote in next year’s municipal elections. And then vote for a candidate who will make a promise to press for this issue to be urgently addressed.

Tim Sabben-Clare, Hon. Chairman,
Stephanie Village Property Owners’ Association,

Tala, Paphos

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.